With 'cheap' World Cup tickets at NZ$1700, a Kiwi fan asks: Have billionaires ruined football?

OpinionUpdatedOpinion byTimothy O’FarrellNZ Herald·12 Jun, 2026 06:00 AM6 mins to readTimothy O’Farrell is a communications advisor who lives in Wellington and plays football at Island Bay FC.THE FACTSThe Fifa World Cup started this morning, with 104 games of football to be staged in just over a month and 6 billion people predicted to tune in.Travel bans and visa restrictions have meant fans from Iran, Iraq and Haiti have been barred from entering the US.Ticket prices have dominated the headlines in recent weeks, with the attorneys-general of New York and New Jersey launching an investigation into Fifa’s practices.Are billionaires ruining football?

The World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world, with 6 billion people predicted to tune in, according to its organising body, Fifa. If you’re not interested, you might want to turn off every piece of technology