MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥� Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday said FIFA should reflect on the high cost of tickets for the as many have called the price far out of reach for the vast majority of Mexicans.
Sheinbaum told journalists that soccer should be much more than a business.
鈥淪occer has to be something else,鈥� she said. 鈥淎ll of this should prompt reflection, even within FIFA.鈥�
There was no immediate public reaction from FIFA. Its president, Gianni Infantino, last week defended high ticket prices as fitting in the North American market.
Earlier this year, tickets for matches in the three host countries including Mexico went on sale at prices ranging from $140 to $8,680. While some prices have fallen, others have soared. Tickets for the final are priced at $32,970. Resale prices are higher. In April, FIFA鈥檚 own resale platform listed four tickets for the final at around $2.3 million each.
Although Mexico’s president acknowledged that it is 鈥渇ine鈥� for the World Cup to be run as a business, she said soccer also should be 鈥渁 space for bringing people together, like all sports.鈥�
Sheinbaum’s government has come under criticism by a range of , which say the government is over pressing social needs.
Meanwhile, parts of stadiums in places like Guadalajara have FIFA last week some empty seats in Guadalajara on fans who watched from the concourses.
Since the prices were announced for the 104 World Cup matches to be played in , the United States and Canada, Sheinbaum has spoken out and promoted a government-backed 鈥淪ocial World Cup鈥� initiative.
The program aims to set up and other cities across the country where Mexicans and foreign tourists can watch matches free of charge on giant screens.
According to local authorities, half a million people attended the 18 street festivals across Mexico City on June 11 to watch the opening match in which .
Sheinbaum also broke with a longstanding World Cup tradition under which the host country鈥檚 president attends the opening match. Instead, she gave her ticket to a 21-year-old Indigenous female soccer player who had no financial means of purchasing one.
The federal government also decided that public officials would give up about 500 tickets to people who participated in 鈥淪ocial World Cup鈥� activities, and that 88 tickets would be distributed through schools.
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