World Cup opens under pressure over visas and ticket prices

FIFA president Gianni Infantino used his pre-tournament briefing to defend the governing body’s handling of several off-pitch issues, saying organisers were dealing with problems where they could but could not override national governments.

The comments came after Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was refused entry to the United States despite holding a valid visa. US authorities said the decision was linked to alleged connections with “suspected members of terror organisations”, bringing immigration controls into sharper focus ahead of a tournament being staged across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Infantino called the case unfortunate but pushed back against suggestions that FIFA could simply intervene and force a different outcome.

“We are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces. We are a sports organisation,” he said.

He said FIFA continued to work on visa-related cases behind the scenes, arguing that public pressure was not always the best route to a solution.

“We always try to find solutions,” he said. “Sometimes to immediately start screaming and shouting has the opposite effect of finding a solution.”

Asked whether the visa problems had made him regret awarding part of the tournament to the United States, Infantino rejected the suggestion. He said complications were unavoidable for an event of this scale and were not limited to one host country.

“There are issues; it’s normal for an event of this magnitude,” he said. “We deal with all of them.”

The FIFA chief also pointed to Iran’s participation as evidence that football could still operate amid strained international relations. He said some had doubted whether Iran would be able to take part, but insisted he had always expected the team to be present.

“People were saying Iran couldn’t come to the World Cup,” Infantino said. “I promised them they will come.”

He added that FIFA wanted the tournament to carry a unifying message, even when political tensions were high.

“When Iran plays, the stadium will be full and I hope there will be a positive atmosphere because this is football,” he said. “We want to unite the world.”

Infantino also defended ticket prices, another issue that has drawn criticism from supporters. He said more than six million tickets had already been sold for the 48-team tournament, with demand far stronger than FIFA had expected.

According to Infantino, the cheapest tickets start at US$60, a level he said compared favourably with entry prices for major American sports playoff events.

“The starting price at US$60 is the lowest entry price of any of the American sports in the playoff phases,” he said.

He argued that lower official prices would have encouraged resale on secondary markets at much higher rates, while stressing that FIFA’s revenue was used to support football development.

“If you sell it at a lower price point, it would have gone on secondary markets at much higher prices. Every dollar that comes in goes back to the development of football,” he said.

The tournament begins at Estadio Azteca, where Mexico face South Africa in the opening match. The Mexico City stadium will become the first venue to host matches at three men’s World Cups.

Infantino said the expanded format, travel distances, climate and altitude across the three host countries could make this edition more unpredictable than previous tournaments.

“Let the celebration begin,” he said.

Reuters