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THE SKY HIGH ticket prices for the much-anticipated World Cup final today between Spain and Argentina have been widely billed at the most expensive in the US to date, according to Al Jazeera.
Less than 24 hours before kick-off, the cost for a seat at the MetLife stadium crossed the $2 million mark (€1.75 million).
On Saturday, FIFA’s resale platform had tickets available from around $10,000 to as high as $2.3 milion (€2 million).
On resale platform TickPick, the average ticket price is $11,327 (€9,900).
“A lot of my friends have felt disconnected the entire tournament due to the tickets being unaffordable,” Howie Ray, 42, told AFP.
But fans in New York unable to secure – or afford – a ticket to the final will have their pick of quirky watch parties.
Global Citizen will stage an all-star show in Central Park to coincide with the fixture, while the American Museum of Natural History will also be screening the final.
Meanwhile, noisy Argentinians have brought the World Cup carnival back to New York ahead of the clash against Spain later today, after interest dipped with the US exit.
Local enthusiasm for the tournament had fallen away after co-hosts the United States were knocked out by Belgium on 6 July and tickets for the final became the costliest in US sporting history.
“I’m very nervous because I love Argentina. It’s the final. It’s probably the last of Messi. So maybe it’s our day. I don’t know. We came across a few Spaniards but I don’t look at them,” said Argentine dentist Florencia Luzinin, 30.
She was among thousands of blue and white-striped Argentina fans flocking to the busy tourist hubs of central Manhattan ahead of the final game over the Hudson River in New Jersey.
A deadly Legionnaire’s disease outbreak and extreme weather in the days before the final including ferocious storms, plus flooding and smoke from Canadian forest fires have also distracted many in New York. Air quality was back to normal at the stadium ahead of kick-off.
But Argentine fans were out in force as they made their way to the 82,500-capacity MetLife stadium, with many gathering in the city’s informal tournament hub, Times Square.
The city’s Penn Station was a sea of Argentine jerseys, most emblazoned with Lionel Messi’s name – and two dogs were dressed up in the iconic blue and white strip. Spain fans swarmed around Madison Square Garden with one clutching a replica trophy.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has praised the national football team’s unity.
In an opinion piece published in daily El País, Sanchez said the squad reflected “the Spain that bets on collective talent to win and to show itself to the world as the loved and respected country that it is”.
The socialist leader, who will attend the match at MetLife Stadium near New York alongside King Felipe VI, said the players embodied “solidarity and team spirit” as well as technical ability.
He wrote that the side’s attacking style had “captivated” supporters and praised the values he said defined Spain.
The country “will become one” during the match, “guided by the spirit of camaraderie” that Spain coach Luis de la Fuente “has instilled in this unique team,” Sanchez said.
His comments come as Sanchez confronts a series of graft scandals involving people close to him that have put his minority government under strain.
A court confirmed on Thursday that his wife, Begona Gomez, will stand trial for alleged influence peddling and embezzlement.
On Tuesday, another court barred his brother, David Sanchez, from holding public office for nine years after finding him guilty of administrative misconduct over the creation of a tailor‑made local government post.
In June, Jose Luis Abalos, Sanchez’s former close ally and ex‑minister, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for embezzlement and other offences.
Meanwhile, in comments that have been decried in Spain and abroad, former conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy recently said there were no French players on the French team.
In the semi-finals, Spain defeated France, whose team has several French-born players with immigrant backgrounds.
Additional reporting by Ottoline Spearman
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