If you have any interest in attending the Mexico-England World Cup match on Sunday, you might have to look past your piggy bank and consider cashing out your pension, your Afore and your savings account — after you max out your credit cards and sell your car.
Even before the tournament for which Mexico is a co-host began, exorbitant ticket prices were expected to keep all but the well-off away from the stadiums. The Round of 16 contest at Estadio Azteca is further confirmation.
La Jornada newspaper reported on Wednesday that as soon as England defeated Congo to set up the showdown against El Tri, resale tickets were advertised at a mere 2.3 million pesos (US $131,609).
Before dismissing the opportunity, keep in mind that those seats are identified as Category 1, meaning they are at field level.
For those preferring a less pricey option, ducats purchased through the England Supporters’ Travel Club (ESTC) are on offer for a more reasonable £22,800 (US $30,443). The face value of the tickets is US $605, so that’s just a slight 4,900% mark-up.
But, buyer beware. The BBC reports that the seller must pay FIFA a 15% fee of US $4,500, so read the fine print to make sure that charge is not being passed on to you.
The cheapest ticket available through the ESTC costs US $3,448, up from a face value of US $295. That’s nearly 12 times the original price.
Other options are available on the StubHub platform. One possibility is a single seat in an upper deck of the north end of Mexico City Stadium, as FIFA has dubbed Estadio Azteca. That spot can be had for 89,000 pesos (US $5,091).
Another resale website, Viagogo, was offering tickets with prices ranging from 67,000 pesos (US $3,833) in the upper deck to 195,000 pesos (US $11,156) behind one of the goals.
Tickets on the official FIFA website have long been sold out, so resale websites are the only option remaining. But act quickly, as prices have risen by more than a third in the past three days, according to The Financial Times.
The 2026 World Cup has been singled out as the most expensive and inaccessible for supporters, causing widespread discontent among fans and prompting scathing criticism from others.
“FIFA promised ‘the most inclusive World Cup in history’ and ended up turning a ticket into a luxury item,” long-time Mexican sports journalist José Ramón Fernández said on ESPN.
Even Carlos Slim, Mexico’s richest man with an estimated worth of US $125 billion, called the prices “excessive.”
A poll conducted in Mexico by Kueski before the tournament found that only 1% of those surveyed said they planned to attend a World Cup match, while more than 60% said they would watch the games from home.
With reports from La Jornada, the BBC, The Financial Times and El Economista
