Tomorrow the World Cup will conclude with a final match that witnessed fans' willingness to pay huge sums to attend this quadrennial sporting event, as ticket buyers surprised even the most pessimistic with their exorbitant prices.

In the match held at the New York New Jersey stadium - widely described as the most expensive sporting event held in the United States - Argentina's team led by Lionel Messi faces Spain's team and its young star Lamine Yamal.

It is a fitting conclusion to a tournament that tested the limits of fan spending, as FIFA's gamble paid off despite concerns over visa restrictions and internal disruptions in the United States.

FIFA says the occupancy rate for group stage match tickets reached about 99.7% and that it will implement dynamic pricing for the first time in this tournament.

Meanwhile, SeatGeek indicates that the average resale price for final match tickets exceeded $11,000.

Scott Friedman, a ticket expert who previously worked with the Cleveland Cavaliers, said: 'FIFA estimated the demand well, because people were paying exorbitant prices to attend almost all 104 matches.'

He added: 'A year ago, we did not expect people to travel carrying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents and other conspiracy theories. But it is the most popular tournament in the world without a doubt, and FIFA, to its credit, raised prices and people ultimately paid them.'

An analysis by Reuters of FIFA attendance data showed that more than half of the 72 group stage matches were sold out, while most other matches were just a few hundred fans short. FIFA reported that about 99.7% of available seats were filled during the preliminary round matches.

The data dispelled early fears that FIFA's steep prices would deter fans, after many empty seats were seen around the Guadalajara stadium during the June 11 match between South Korea and the Czech Republic. FIFA reported attendance of 44,985 spectators in the stadium that seats about 46,000, but the empty seats seen by a Reuters reporter at the stadium seemed to justify critics' worst fears.

Rising prices, rising demand

As the tournament expanded to include the largest number of teams ever, with 48 teams participating, fan interest also increased. Prices were initially set at $575 per ticket for group matches - more than double the most expensive ticket available during the 2022 tournament - but FIFA's dynamic pricing system made many ticket holders pay much more.

Hundreds of tickets were still available for the final match on Wednesday, at a price just over $7,000 on the FIFA platform, a surprising development that sparked speculation about whether FIFA had overpriced them.

But Friedman explained that this amount of available seats was likely the result of a process known as 'slow ticketing', a common practice at major events where organizers reduce the number of available tickets to stimulate buyers.

Friedman, who runs 'The Ticket Talk Network' dedicated to studying how tickets for major sporting events are bought and sold, said: 'They pretend they have sold all their seats, then gradually release them to increase market demand.' 'For example, they say: \'Only a few tickets left in this section, I better buy now.\''

By Friday, almost all tickets appeared to be sold, with a few listed on the FIFA sales platform at around $32,000 per ticket.

No one really knows how this works

The opaque 'dynamic pricing' process has proven to be a boon for FIFA, as the sport continues to evolve from a popular game to a hobby for the wealthy. FIFA introduced dynamic pricing for the first time in this tournament, allowing ticket prices to fluctuate based on real-time demand and other factors.

Adam Elmachtoub, associate professor of industrial engineering and operations research at Columbia University, says: 'One of the reasons for frustration over the past few months is that no one really knows how this system works.'

People are willing to accept dynamic pricing - we deal with it in airline tickets, and even in buying clothes - but I think that when it comes to an event of this magnitude, transparency would be very beneficial. FIFA released a limited number of tickets at reduced prices in response to criticism over prices, as politicians, including New York City Mayor Zarin Mamdani, pressed for affordable seats for city residents.

The high-level tournament also spurred demand, as the top four ranked teams qualified for the semi-finals for the first time since the ranking system began, and Sunday's final will feature Messi, 39, in what is likely his last World Cup match.

Elmachtoub said: 'The concept of fair pricing here is complicated, because entertainment is not a necessity.'

Fan appetite remains strong. The lenient rules regarding the ticket resale market in the United States have accelerated the pace of resale tickets during the tournament.

Digital Affairs Editor at Reuters - Greater New York Area