April 20, 2026
Local
Local
KOTA TINGGI, April 20 — A 71-year-old man has been remanded for seven days until April 26 in connection with a shooting incident in Taman Kota Jaya that left three people dead yesterday.
ZURICH, April 18 — Gianni Infantino has defended the high ticket prices for this year’s World Cup in North America, saying the tournament is FIFA’s only major source of revenue every four years and that its income is reinvested globally.
Speaking at Semafor’s annual World Economy Summit in New York, the FIFA president stressed that the organisation is a non-profit body made up of 211 member associations.
“Many people don’t realise that although we generate billions from the World Cup, FIFA is a non-profit organisation, meaning all revenue is reinvested into developing football across 211 countries,” he said during a Q&A session.
He added that most member nations would struggle to fund football development without FIFA grants, saying the organisation aims to strike a balance in managing its income.
The comments come amid criticism of soaring secondary-market prices for World Cup tickets, with some seats for matches in the United States reportedly listed at several thousand US dollars, and final tickets reaching tens of thousands.
Infantino noted that the World Cup is FIFA’s only major revenue-generating event, produced once every four years, with funds then distributed over the following cycle.
He also described North America as a “very special market” and said he has spent the past few years in the United States to better understand it.
This year’s expanded World Cup will feature a record 48 teams across the United States, Canada and Mexico, with 104 matches scheduled. — Reuters
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has defended soaring World Cup ticket prices, saying the tournament is the body’s main source of income. — AFP pic
