Olga Savchuk and Antonio Kubero
Guido Peralta, an accountant and a big fan of the Argentine national football team, started saving for the 2026 World Cup as soon as the previous one in Qatar ended.
However, he didn't expect it to cost him so much.
"For Qatar, the tickets cost me $1.470... For this World Cup, I've already paid $6.960 just for the tickets," he tells the BBC.
He bought tickets for all the matches of his Argentina, the current world champions, including all the late-stage matches and the final.
If gauchos If they fail to repeat their success, he could get his money back for some tickets, but if they really make it to the end, Guido will spend the same amount of money on tickets alone as he did on the entire expenses at the World Cup in Qatar.
"I understand that football is a business, but this time it got out of control," he points out.
Guido, by the way, is one of the lucky ones.
For fans like him, national football associations provide cheaper tickets.
An ordinary fan could pay much more for the same tickets, and everyone has to fork out significant sums for accommodation and travel.
This led to widespread criticism that the tournament had become inaccessible to fans.
The most expensive World Cup in history - and by far
The hosts of the 2026 World Cup will be the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The matches will be played in 16 stadiums across the continent, most of them in the USA.
In early December, tickets went on sale for a limited period, which was eagerly awaited around the world.
As always, tickets were sorted by category, in an attempt to allow fans of different socio-economic backgrounds to attend the matches.
But many are surprised by the high prices even for the lowest categories, especially compared to previous championships.
All tickets are distributed by the International Football Federation (FIFA), which also sets the prices.
They rank from category 1 (most expensive) to category 4 (most affordable).
Although the exact number of tickets for each category is not known, estimates based on stadium maps published by FIFA show that the majority fall into the two most expensive categories - 1 and 2.
Category 4 tickets have become an "accessible entry point to the tournament" for all fans, FIFA claims.
Since that ticket sales window is now closed, it is no longer possible to register for it through the official FIFA platform.
In any case, it is very likely that those tickets sold out in the first round, back in October.
The cheapest category still available for the championship is - category 3.
Those tickets for the group stage of the competition cost between $140 and $1.120, depending on the estimated popularity of the matches, which means $4.185 for the final.
It is possible, however, to buy a category 4 ticket for the final from a fan who is reselling it.
Prices on the official FIFA website vary from $8.749 to $46.000.
Football Supporters of Europe (FSE), an organisation that brings together clubs from across the continent, expressed dismay at the "extortionate ticket prices".
They calculated that they are almost five times more expensive than tickets during the 2022 championship in Qatar.
However, Gianni Infantino, president of the International Football Federation (FIFA), defended ticket prices during the World Sports Summit in Dubai in late December.
"Without us (FIFA) there would be no football in 150 countries in the world."
"Football is there because of and thanks to these revenues that we bring in from and at the World Cup, which we reinvest around the world."
In a press release after the main ticket purchase window closed, FIFA reported more than 500 million ticket requests.
"Knowing how much this championship means to people from all over the world, our only regret is that we cannot welcome every fan into the stadiums," Infantino said.
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What does FIFA say?
In response to criticism, FIFA announced an additional group of tickets called the "Fan Entry Category" priced at $60.
These tickets will be available to members of national team fan organizations.
FIFA insists these tickets will allow loyal fans to attend even the final for just $60, instead of $4.185.
This year, they have also promised eight percent of the entire stadium capacity for fans from the Participant Member Associations (the national sports bodies that represent each country at the tournament) and 10 percent of these tickets will cost $60.
The FSE dismissed the move as a "pandering tactic to the negative reactions from the world."
"This shows that the ticket pricing policy is not written in stone, that it was decided hastily, and without proper consultation," the FSE added.
Fifa did not specify the number of tickets in each category.
But the BBC studied the situation using the example of a stadium in Texas, which will host games from the group stage of Argentina's competition with Jordan and Austria.
These are the matches that Gvido plans to watch.
FIFA estimates the capacity of Dallas Stadium at 70.122 seats, but that number could change due to the stadium's configuration.
Areas 401, 424, 431 and 454 are marked in green as Category 4.
FIFA does not provide the exact number of seats available in these categories, and the Dallas stadium was unable to provide the BBC with that information.
However, with the help of Seatgik, an online ticketing website that is officially partnered with Dallas Stadium, the BBC was able to calculate the approximate number of seats in the sections designated for Category 4 tickets.
We counted 558 seats.
Since only half or less than half of each section is declared Category 4, we halved that figure to 279, meaning only 0,39 percent of stadium seats are sold at the cheapest price.
As can be seen in the model, the blue areas are marked as category 3, the second most accessible category.
Compared to category 2 (red) and category 1 (gold), it is obvious that the more affordable tickets represent a minority of the available seats.
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Other costs
The costs don't just stop at tickets.
Guido recalls that he set aside $5.000 for Qatar, which covered the cost of tickets, flights, accommodation and daily expenses.
"I even have some money left," he tells the BBC.
But now the situation is different.
Six months before the start of the championship, he still had not managed to secure accommodation.
According to Booking, a well-known accommodation search site, the cheapest hotel room in Dallas for June 22, 2026 is $190 per night.
Skyscanner, a website for purchasing airline tickets, offers the cheapest direct flights from Buenos Aires to Dallas at a price of $1.260 when flying with American Airlines.
As we get closer to the match date, these prices will most likely increase with demand, just like ticket prices.
The championship could be inaccessible even to those fans who don't have to travel.
The World Cup final will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, home of the American football teams New York Giants and New York Jets.
Charlotte Bavol, a 23-year-old New Yorker, is disappointed with the ticket prices.
She can't afford them either.
"I love the World Cup, but the prices are just too high. It's absolutely surreal!" she told the BBC.
"We feel very left out, a huge event is happening in our city, but we won't be able to participate in it even a little bit."
Fans from other parts of the world have similar complaints.
"It will cost about $15.000 to watch the games, because Ghana will be playing in Toronto, Boston and Philadelphia," Muftawa Abdulai, a Ghanaian sports journalist, tells the BBC.
"Accommodation, food and international transportation... I think it will all come out to around $10.000 to $15.000," he adds.
He calls the price increase "unacceptable."
Ghana and Africa, he says, cannot be compared to other parts of the world in that way.
"We love football, but first we have to take care of the most basic things," he concludes.
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