World Cup tickets still pricey for Canada matches; resellers driving costs up

Hundreds of tickets remain available for Canada's opening FIFA World Cup matches, but fans looking for last-minute seats face sticker shock.

Vancouver's match between Canada and Qatar on June 18 has tickets ranging from $770 to $2,650 on FIFA's official resale site as of Wednesday. Toronto's Friday game against Bosnia-Herzegovina is nearly sold out, with about 1,600 tickets available through third-party resellers at prices from roughly $850 to almost $5,400.

None of Canada's 13 matches are currently sold out, with at least some tickets directly available through FIFA's official website for each game.

FIFA uses dynamic ticket pricing that adjusts based on factors including weather, demand, and match importance. The strategy has given the governing body tight control over pricing, but it's also drawn scrutiny from fans, critics, and regulators who say it's pricing out ordinary supporters.

Michael Naraine, associate professor of sport management at Brock University, said FIFA has gone to extensive lengths to maintain control over the ticket ecosystem. "FIFA has done a really good job at keeping it very tight and closed and restricted, so that they can keep their eyes on pricing levels and pricing fluctuations," he said.

Softer-than-expected demand has been blamed partly on the high prices. According to Arsalan Shirazi, a Toronto lawyer and soccer fan, the current market is out of reach for many. "I think the prices are just a bit too exorbitant to be justified," he said, though he noted the World Cup energy is infectious and that fans can still enjoy matches in bars or fan zones.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended the pricing Wednesday, saying "if we are doing something wrong, everyone in North America is doing something wrong."

Ontario introduced legislation earlier this year capping resale ticket prices at face value, with steeper fines for violations coming into effect Wednesday. B.C. has no similar law. The attorneys-general of New York, New Jersey, California, and Texas have launched investigations into whether FIFA ticketing policies violate consumer protection laws.