Football is the people’s game, but which people? Certainly not you or I.

Sales reopened for the biggest tournament in the world on Wednesday, but many fans were left frustrated after a glitchy service sent them in the wrong direction before being presented with new, higher prices for games that fluctuate wildly given the controversial dynamic system in place.

The Athletic reported that “tickets to roughly 40 of the World Cup’s 104 matches were more expensive Wednesday than they had been in any previous ticketing phase“, with prices doubled or tripled compared to the previous phase — or even more.

For example, a Category 1 ticket to the World Cup final cost $10,990, an increase of almost $5,000 since the first round of sales began.

Category 2 tickets to the same game were put up at $7,380 while Category 3 tickets went on sale for $5,785, an increase of over 50% in both cases.

The semi-final was the second most-expensive game at the tournament and the USMNT’s opener against Paraguay the third. For the latter, which will be held at SoFi Stadium, prices opened at $2,735 in Category 1, $1,940 in Category 2, and $1,120 in Category 3.

Given these prices, many games are not sold out; it remains to be seen what will happen with the huge numbers of unsold tickets as the tournament draws closer. At the time of writing, FIFA have refused to lower prices to make the games more accessible to working-class people.

That’s if fans can even get to the games. Prices for transport to stadiums in the United States has skyrocketed and people wishing to travel from a number of African countries are said to have to put down a $15,000 bond in order to obtain a visa. That’s if they can get one at all. People from the Ivory Coast and Senegal, as well as Haiti and Iran, are all on a Trump-imposed banned list and cannot enter the United States.

Even for those allowed to travel, increased security at the border, with agents said to be checking 5-year social media history of people from up to 42 nations for any sign of anti-Trump scrutiny, has dissuaded many from making the trip.

While Infantino and Trump can claim what they like about this World Cup, the harsh truth is that the fans, the atmosphere, and the shared enjoyment of people from all around the world are all being dropped down the list of priorities. Or worse, forgotten about completely.

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