FIFA accused of ‘betraying’ England fans with huge World Cup ticket prices | Football | Sport
FIFA’s pricing strategy for the 2026 World Cup has been branded a “monumental betrayal” after it was revealed the cheapest tickets for next summer’s final will set fans back an astronomical £3,120. England fans will need to spend around £200 to witness Thomas Tuchel’s team face Croatia in their tournament opener. That price applies to a so-called ‘value tier’ seat in Dallas’s 100,000-capacity venue, with ‘standard tier’ tickets priced at £373. Those seeking ‘premier tier’ seats will face an eye-watering £523 bill for an opening group match.
These costs relate to tickets purchased via the ‘participant member allocation’ (PMA) – meaning those obtained through the official England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC). The revelation of the PMA pricing structure has sparked fury amongst supporters’ organisations worldwide. Football Supporters Europe (FSE) stated that according to currently available information, fans could expect to pay upwards of £6,000 to attend every fixture from the opening match through to the final via the PMA allocation – FIVE TIMES the amount required to do the same at Qatar 2022.
“Football Supporters Europe is astonished by the extortionate ticket prices imposed by FIFA on the most dedicated supporters for next year’s FIFA World Cup,” a statement read.
“This is a monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup, ignoring the contribution of supporters to the spectacle it is. We call on FIFA to immediately halt PMA ticket sales, engage in a consultation with all impacted parties, and review ticket prices and category distribution until a solution that respects the tradition, universality, and cultural significance of the World Cup is found.”
According to information released by UEFA in autumn 2023, following England from their opening Euro 2024 fixture through to the final would have cost £328 for tickets in the ‘fan first’ category. Even the next tier up would have totalled £753.
The Free Lions, an England supporters’ group, posted on X expressing support for FSE’s statement, describing the prices as “shocking prices, above and beyond the already high costs we suspected”.
“This can’t be allowed to happen,” the group stated. “Match-goers across the world deserve protection from these rip-off prices,” their statement continued.
Tickets for England’s group stage fixtures against Panama and Ghana begin at £134, whilst the most affordable options for the round of 32 and round of 16 matches are priced at £175 and £200 respectively. The cheapest quarter-final ticket for an England match will set fans back £508, rising to £687 for a semi-final seat.
