Andrew Giuliani defended soaring World Cup ticket prices as proof of surging demand for the tournament after President Trump told The Post that he wouldn’t shellout more than $1,000 to watch Team USA’s opening match next month.
“We look to FIFA as a private entity here, we don’t really believe in price controls,” Giuliani, the Trump administration’s executive director of the White House Task Force on the 2026 World Cup, told the Financial Times.
“That’s kind of like what dynamic pricing can do.”
Giuliani’s comments came as Trump himself acknowledged in an exclusive interview with The Post this week that he wouldn’t pay four figures to watch the US men’s national team’s opening World Cup match against Paraguay next month.
“I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you,” Trump told The Post.
The soaring ticket costs have triggered mounting backlash ahead of the World Cup, which will be staged across the US, Canada and Mexico beginning in June.
The cheapest official ticket for the US-Paraguay opener on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in California was listed at $1,120 through FIFA’s official portal, according to the Associated Press.
Prices for later-round matches are even steeper.
The cheapest tickets for the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey were listed at $5,785, while premium seats climbed to $10,990, according to AP reporting this spring.
FIFA has also rolled out “front category” premium inventory for marquee games — ultra-premium seats positioned closest to the field. Some of those tickets for the final were listed at a staggering $32,970.
On resale platforms, prices remain punishing.
The cheapest resale tickets for the World Cup final have hovered between roughly $7,000 and $9,000 on secondary marketplaces including StubHub, SeatGeek and Viagogo.
FIFA has leaned heavily on dynamic pricing — where algorithms adjust ticket costs based on demand — a strategy that has fueled anger among soccer fans worldwide as prices for marquee matches surged into the thousands.
Giuliani defended the pricing model as proof of enthusiasm for the tournament and for travel to the United States.
“It actually shows just how sought-after it is to come to the United States for a World Cup,” Giuliani told the FT.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has repeatedly defended the strategy, arguing that prices reflect market realities in the American sports and entertainment economy.
“We have to look at the market,” Infantino said this week at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles.
“We are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates.”
Infantino also argued that artificially lowering prices would simply fuel scalping and the secondary market.
“If you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price,” he said.
Giuliani similarly dismissed calls for intervention, saying fans priced out of stadiums would still have options through public viewing areas and FIFA fan festivals.
He pointed to low-cost or free live-viewing events expected to be hosted in cities staging matches.
The administration official also sought to tamp down fears that Trump’s hardline immigration enforcement policies could discourage international visitors from attending the tournament.
“Anybody who has come here legally or who is here legally has nothing to be concerned about, whether it’s during the World Cup or at another point,” Giuliani told the FT.
Giuliani insisted visa processing was moving efficiently ahead of the games. He said more than 5 million ESTA travel authorizations had been processed between October 2025 and the end of March for visitors from 19 participating countries.
Waiting times for travelers from Argentina and Brazil had dropped to “less than two weeks,” he said.
“The US wants people to be able to come here legally and be able to enjoy this World Cup,” Giuliani told the FT.
“It’s an unbelievable opportunity to show the world American exceptionalism over our first 250 years.”
Giuliani said more than 5 million tickets had been sold by late April.
The post Andrew Giuliani defends $1,000-plus World Cup ticket prices after Trump says ‘I wouldn’t pay it’ appeared first on New York Post.
