FIFA President Gianni Infantino held a press conference in Mexico City on June 10 to address visa and ticket pricing issues before the 2026 World Cup opening match between Mexico and South Africa [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
Infantino defended FIFA's role in visa issues, stressing that the organization cannot override government immigration policies but is working behind the scenes to find solutions [1, 2, 3, 7, 6, 8]. He described the denial of entry to Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan—who was barred at Miami airport despite holding a valid visa, reportedly over alleged ties to suspected terrorist groups—as "unfortunate". He said, "We are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces. We are a sports organisation" [1, 9, 2, 10, 3, 7, 6, 8].
Several teams and fans, notably from Iran, also faced visa challenges tied to U.S. immigration. Iran’s national team eventually received visas about 10 days before their first match after behind-the-scenes coordination by FIFA. Infantino pointed to Iran's participation as an example of football overcoming geopolitical tensions amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, saying, "People were saying Iran couldn’t come to the World Cup. I promised them they will come" and "We want to unite the world" [1, 2, 10, 6, 8]. This tournament marks the first time a World Cup host country (USA) is at war with a participating nation's country (Iran) [6].
Infantino defended FIFA’s ticket pricing, stating the lowest ticket price is $60, which he claimed is lower than any American sports playoff’s lowest price. He also said the average price below $500 is the lowest among American sports on average and highlighted that over six million tickets have been sold [1, 3, 4, 5, 11]. However, prices for premium seats reportedly reach tens of thousands of dollars, with final hospitality tickets listed at up to $32,970, reflecting North American market and secondary resale dynamics [4, 5, 11].
Addressing criticism, Infantino urged fans and media to "chill and relax," warning that "sometimes to immediately start screaming and shouting has the opposite effect of finding a solution" [1, 9, 10, 6, 8]. He expressed no regrets over selecting the United States as a World Cup host despite visa issues [1, 2, 10, 6].
The United States will host 78 of the 104 matches in the 2026 tournament [10]. The opening match is scheduled for June 11, 2026, with FIFA continuing to manage ongoing visa and ticketing concerns as the tournament kicks off.
