Fan fury and FIFA concession: A look at the World Cup ticket price row

A row over World Cup ticket prices is rumbling on, with FIFA accused of not offering enough at a reasonable price to the most loyal fans.

Here, the Press Association takes a closer look.

How did all this start?

FIFA had already attracted controversy by using dynamic pricing in the first rounds of sales for next summer’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It had promised a ring-fenced, fixed-price allocation for national associations to sell to fans in their respective travel clubs and loyalty schemes, with the details being published by FAs last Thursday after FIFA set out the prices.

It emerged that the cheapest ticket for the final in these participant member association (PMA) allowances would be 4,185 US dollars – £3,140. England fans buying the cheapest tickets would need to spend over £5,000 to follow the team from the first match to the final, should they get there, even before travel and accommodation is considered.

How did fans react?

The outrage was almost immediate, with Football Supporters Europe (FSE) urging FIFA to halt the PMA allocation sales process, describing the pricing as a “monumental betrayal” of hardcore fans. The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) described the prices as “scandalous” and urged the FA to act on fans’ behalf.

The FA did not comment but undertook to raise supporters’ concerns through the correct channels.

FIFA did not respond to the criticism and instead last Friday pointed to the fact there had been five million applications in the first 24 hours after the opening of the random selection draw phase of ticketing.

What has happened now?

On Tuesday FIFA announced some tickets priced at 60 US dollars (£45) would be available within the PMA allocations for all 104 matches, including the final.

However, these tickets represent just 10 per cent of a country’s PMA allocation per match, which itself is eight per cent of a stadium’s capacity. For England’s game against Croatia, for example, the £45 tickets would only be available to around 400 fans.

It is believed there are around 600 ‘top cappers’ in the England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC) – those fans with the most loyalty points – so even within that group, not everyone will be able to access these cheap tickets.

What have fan groups said about this?

Tom Greatrex, the FSA chair, has urged FIFA to stop “playing PR games” and price all tickets to countries’ most loyal supporters reasonably. He urged national FAs to “apply pressure” to achieve it.`

FSE has also written to FIFA president Gianni Infantino to express serious concern around disabled fan ticketing, with tickets ringfenced for disabled supporters appearing to be available for purchase at inflated prices on the FIFA resale platform without any eligibility checks.

What has FIFA said?

It said introducing the new 60-dollar category was the “right thing to do”, while again pointing out that demand for tickets, despite the pricing, was “off the scale”, with over 20 million applications now received.

An official close to the discussions around ticketing also pointed out that it is FIFA’s 211 member associations – including the very poorest – which benefit from a commercially successful World Cup.