FIFA president Gianni Infantino has defended World Cup ticket prices - and insisted there would be “no football in 150 countries” without the revenue.

Fan groups have hit out at sky-high prices for next summer’s tournament which has already prompted FIFA into a change in policy by offering bargain £45 Supporter Entry Tier tickets at every game because of the backlash. England fans are still facing huge bills with the cheapest standard ticket at next year’s World Cup final costing an eye-watering £3,129 which is a huge rise on the last tournament.

But Infantino says the huge uptake since tickets went on sale shows the popularity and says it keeps football going while they could have filled “300 World Cups” purely based on ticket sales in the opening fortnight.

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Infantino, talking at the World Sports Summit in Dubai, said: “What’s crucial is that the revenues that are generated from this are going back to the game all over the world.

“Without FIFA, there would be no football in 150 countries in the world. There is football because, and thanks to, these revenues we generate with, and from, the World Cup, which we reinvest all over the world.

“We have six-seven million tickets on sale...in 15 days, we received 150 million ticket requests. So, 10 million ticket requests every single day. It shows how powerful the World Cup is.

"In the almost 100 years of history of the World Cup, FIFA has sold 44 million tickets in total. So, in two weeks... we could've filled 300 years of World Cups. Imagine that. This is absolutely crazy.

“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is set to be the greatest and most inclusive show on the planet, with more than 150 million tickets already requested in only the first 15 days, making this edition 30 times oversubscribed - a true showcase of incredible demand from fans from over 200 countries.

“This overwhelming response from passionate fans is a true representation of how our game is loved globally - we are going to make history in North America when we bring the world together like never before in a celebration of unity and the best of football.”

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