Why The Beautiful Game Now Belongs To The Rich
take a cut: to take a share of the money from a deal, usually as a fee
Most football fans dream of seeing the World Cup in person. In 2026, that dream has become shockingly expensive. Some resale tickets for the final game have been listed for over two million dollars. One seat was even listed for 11.5 million dollars. These wild numbers are asking prices that no one may ever pay. But the real prices are high enough to stop many fans from going. Even tickets for popular early-round games can cost thousands.
This year, FIFA has also decided to run its own resale website. They charge a 15% fee to the seller and another 15% to the buyer. FIFA has quietly become both the seller and the scalper.
Jason Russell, a magazine editor, won the right to buy tickets through FIFA’s lottery and saw an opportunity. He paid about 400 dollars each for four seats to a World Cup game he didn’t want to see. He listed his tickets on the resale site for 893 dollars each, double what he paid. After FIFA took its cut, Russell still made around 1,300 dollars in profit.
Later, he wrote an article asking a hard question. Was he an evil, selfish scalper? His answer was no. He said everyone in the deal walked away happy, so nobody was hurt.
But many countries disagree. In much of Europe, reselling tickets for profit is illegal. FIFA chose this money-making model for the 2026 World Cup, because ticket resale in the US isn’t regulated.
FIFA’s president does not seem troubled. He joked that if someone paid millions of dollars for a ticket, he would “personally bring him a hot dog and a Coke.” Meanwhile, many real fans will stay home.
Sample sentences
Real estate agents usually take a cut of about 5% when they sell your house.
My manager books all my concerts, but she takes a cut of everything I earn.
The market lets anyone sell food there, as long as the owners take a cut of the profit.
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Am I an Evil, Selfish Scalper for Selling My World Cup Tickets for a Profit?
