Gianni Infantino: Fifa president offers $2m World Cup ticket buyers ‘a hot dog and a Coke’

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has said he will “personally bring a hot dog and a Coke” to anyone who buys a World Cup final ticket for $2m.

The high ticket prices for this summer’s tournament have been the subject of significant criticism, but Infantino joked if a ticket was sold for such a price he would make the delivery to make sure the supporter “has a great experience”.

Numerous tickets for the tournament have been listed for five-figure fees on Fifa’s resale platform, while last month four tickets behind the goal for the final in New Jersey were listed for just under $2.3m (£1.693m) apiece.

“If some people put on the resale market some tickets for the final at $2m, number one, it doesn’t mean that the tickets cost $2m, and number two, it doesn’t mean that somebody will buy these tickets,” Infantino said.

He has consistently defended prices for the tournament and has said they are in-line with other sporting events in the United States.

“In the US, it is permitted to resell tickets as well, so if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price,” Infantino said on Tuesday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills.

“And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double our price.”

“We have 25% of the group stage tickets which can be bought for less than $300.”

Infantino suggested that was comparable with going to a “college game” in the US, adding “and this is the World Cup”.