FIFA tripled the price of its best available tickets to the FIFA World Cup final, making $32,970 seats available Thursday for the July 19 match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Soccer's governing body listed those seats as front category 1 on its sales site on a day that saw members of Congress question the pricing structure for World Cup tickets and ask FIFA for more transparency on asking prices.

FIFA previously had a high price of $10,990 for category 1 at the final. However, that ticket was now available Thursday night only as wheelchair and easy access amenity category 1.

Tickets for the July 14 semifinal at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, were listed at $11,130, $4,330, $3,710 and $2,705. Seats for the following day's semifinal at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium were at $10,635, $3,545 and $2,725.

Seats for the United States opener against Paraguay on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, were available for $2,735, $1,940 and $1,120, while tickets for the Americans' June 19 game against Australia at Seattle's Lumen Field were listed at $2,715. Tickets for the USMNT's group-stage finale against Türkiye at Inglewood on June 25 were $2,970, $1,345, $990 and $840.

Reps. Nellie Pou and Frank Pallone Jr., both New Jersey Democrats, sent a letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino earlier Thursday, asking him to explain what they termed the organization's "opaque" use of dynamic pricing and the fury it has caused.

"We are deeply concerned by reports that FIFA is employing opaque pricing, shifting rules, and potentially deceptive practices that are making it difficult for fans to access seats," the letter read." 

"We write seeking more information about these ticketing practices, including how FIFA is ensuring that the World Cup is affordable for all fans and responding to fans who feel misled."

Infantino has defended the ticket prices.

"We have to look at the market. We are in a market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world, so we have to apply market rates," he said Tuesday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California."

"In the U.S., 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. 

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 of our price."

He added: "You cannot go to watch in the U.S., a college game, not even speaking about a top professional game of a certain level, for less than $300."

Though prices for Super Bowls and College Football national championship games can rival what is being charged for some World Cup matches, tickets for college and professional sporting events in the U.S., including the ongoing NBA playoffs, are regularly available for less than $300.

On the FIFA resale/exchange marketplace, tickets for the final were available Thursday, ranging from $11,499,998.85 to $8,970. The high price was listed for a ticket four rows from the top of the upper deck, in block 307, row 22, seat 12.

FIFA does not control the asking prices on its resale/exchange marketplace but takes a 15% purchase fee from the buyer of each ticket and a 15% resale fee from the seller.

Last month, someone listed tickets for the final at $2,299,998.85.

"If some people put on the secondary, on the resale market, some tickets for the final at $2 million, No. 1, it doesn't mean that the tickets cost $2 million, and No. 2, it doesn't mean that somebody will buy these tickets," Infantino said.

"Actually, if somebody buys a ticket for the final for $2 million, I will personally bring a hot dog and a Coke to make sure that he has a great experience."

Another flashpoint surrounding cost at this summer's World Cup relates to transit to and from games, particularly for those intending to use New Jersey Transit to travel to and from MetLife Stadium.

The steep cost to take that ride has gotten a little cheaper.