Lionel Messi remains one of the most formidable attractions in contemporary sports. Playing what is likely his final World Cup, each match may represent his last appearance on football’s most prestigious stage, as he does so at age 39.
Despite Argentina’s decisive quarter‑final win over Switzerland at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium—home to 69,000 fans—large portions of the seating were still vacant on Saturday.
The cause of these empty seats was not immediately obvious, but it is plausible that the steep ticket prices dissuaded some supporters. This World Cup has seen the highest price points in the tournament’s history, costing at least triple what fans paid for the 2022 event in Qatar, which had already been the most expensive edition to date.
That renovated Saturday night, the expensive yellow seats in the second‑tier middle row at Arrowhead remained empty, while the third tier saw many seats occupied by FIFA volunteers identifiable by their lime‑green jackets. Ticket prices on resale platforms—including FIFA’s own—generally ranged from $1,500 to $4,000.
FIFA did not reply to inquiries about the unused seats. An announcement following the match noted that tickets for the upcoming semifinals were still available on FIFA’s sales portal, which takes a 30 percent commission on each resale.
Prior to the tournament’s kickoff, FIFA president Gianni Infantino explained that pricing for North American matches reflected local market conditions, largely in the United States where most games are hosted.
FIFA adopted a demand‑based pricing model similarreti inherited from the hotel and airline industries. Nonetheless, ticket reductions for less popular fixtures on FIFA’s platform did not match the significant discounts seen on third‑party sites. FIFA previously issued refunds during last year’s Club World Cup in the United States when fans protested the steep price cuts.
During this World Cup, FIFA has sometimes reported full or near‑full attendance even when many seats are visibly unoccupied.
Critics, including politicians, accuse FIFA of profiteering and exploiting its monopoly over the world’s premier sporting event. Even with a portion of unsold tickets, the tournament—which features 48 teams in 104 matches, many played in vast NFL arenas—has already surpassed previous attendance milestones. FIFA anticipates revenue exceeding $3 billion in ticket sales, more than double the record from its last summit.
Argentina’s fixtures have proven among the priciest, largely due to Messi’s presence, whose name graces nearly every replica jersey purchased by fans. In the run‑up to the quarter‑final in Kansas City, some supporters engaged in fundraising by setting up stalls in Mill Creek Park, selling Argentine‑style steak sandwiches (choripán), beer, and even counterfeit versions of official merchandise.
Charly Botto, a resident of Buenos Aires’s Paternal neighborhood, gegerated brisk profits by vending hats, flags, and jerseys alongside his son Lionel, an architecture student. (Nothing in the sale referenced Messi.) Mr. Botto estimated $2,500 in earnings from exporting knock pueblos from China.
“It obviously helps cover our costs,” Mr. Botto noted. With at least two matches left for Argentina, inventory was dwindling; their younger partner revealed that only four or five jerseys remained in stock.