FA Under Pressure as Fans Rage Over FIFA Ticket Prices
A major supporters' group has urged the Football Association to pressure FIFA to reduce World Cup ticket prices.
A major supporters' group has urged the Football Association to pressure FIFA to reduce World Cup ticket prices.
The Football Supporters Association (FSA) says the pricing structure for next year's tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico is "scandalous."
It, along with Football Supporters Europe (FSE), is demanding that the sales process be halted so that fan groups can negotiate with the world governing body, FIFA, on its pricing policy.
The FSA said in a statement, "We support Football Supporters Europe in demanding a halt to ticket sales and are urging the Football Association, in collaboration with its fellow FA, to directly challenge these outrageous prices."
"We urge all National Associations to stand up for their supporters, without whom there would be no professional game."
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FIFA, FA, and the Scottish FA, but they have yet to comment.
The significant ticket price hikes were revealed on Thursday when FIFA released ticket details for each country's official supporters groups.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, all group stage matches were priced at £68.50, £164.50, or £219.
But for England vs. Croatia and Scotland vs. Brazil next year, tickets cost around £198, £373, or £523.
Prices increase significantly in the later stages.
Quarter-final matches cost £507, £757, and £1,073 for all teams, while semi-final matches cost £686, £1,819, and £2,363.
The cheapest tickets for the final are £3,119, seven times more expensive than in Qatar.
There are no discounts on any of its tickets for children or other groups.
Ticket prices are a 'humorous insult' to supporters
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The cheapest tickets are in the 'Supporter Value' category, which the FSA called "a humorous insult to the average fan."
The FSA further stated that supporters felt "stabbed in the back" and that loyal fans in the US, Mexico, and Canada may no longer be able to attend the matches because the matches will be "unaffordable" for most people.
The FSA stated, "This is a tournament that should be celebrated worldwide, where fans from all countries come together for the love of football." "FIFA has decided to make this a game for the wealthy and the elite who can afford it.
"For FIFA, loyalty doesn't mean hardworking fans traveling thousands of miles to support their team in continental qualifiers. A game that should have been for everyone is now only for those who can afford it.
"Why go after England for disappointment when FIFA can deliver it all six months before a ball is kicked? This tournament has died before it even begins."
If a supporter attends all eight matches in the cheapest ticket category, it will cost them approximately £5,225 to follow their team to the final.
This translates to approximately £8,850 in the mid-price range or £12,357 for the top tier.
In 2022, it would have cost £1,466, £2,645 or £3,914, although this was for seven games rather than eight.
FSE demands talks over 'extortionate' ticket prices
FSE has called on Fifa to stop the ticket sale process, believing it needs to rethink the pricing policy.
"In the price tables gradually and confidentially released by Fifa, tickets allocated to national associations...are reaching astronomical levels," it said in a statement.
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"Adding insult to injury, the lowest price category will not be available to the most dedicated supporters through their national associations [because] Fifa chose to reserve the scarce number of category four tickets to the general sales, subject to dynamic ticket pricing.
"For the first time in World Cup history, no consistent price will be offered across all group stage games. Instead, Fifa is introducing a variable pricing policy dependent on vague criteria such as the perceived attractiveness of the fixture.
"Fans of different national teams will therefore have to pay different prices for the same category at the same stage of the tournament, without any transparency on the pricing structure enforced by Fifa."
The Football Supporters' Association's England Fans Embassy said: "These prices are a slap in the face to supporters who support their team outside of the flagship tournament that appears every four years.
"A game for supporters, loyalty has been thrown out of the window and supporters of the participating nations have been completely let down."
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