Fifa has been accused of a 'monumental betrayal' by fan representatives after it emerged that the cheapest tickets for next summer's World Cup final will cost more than £3,000. Football Supporters Europe (FSE) described the prices as 'extortionate' and called for an immediate halt to ticket sales.
The Croatian football federation published prices in its participant member association (PMA) allocation, listing the cheapest tickets for the final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on 19 July at $4,185 (£3,120). FSE said the minimum the most dedicated fans can expect to pay to watch their team from the first match to the final would be $6,900 (£5,137.74) – five times more than it would have cost to do so when the World Cup was held in Qatar in 2022.
FSE said: '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. This is a monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup, ignoring the contribution of supporters to the spectacle it is.'
Members of England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC) were also astonished to hear of the prices from the Football Association. The cheapest tickets for England's opening match against Croatia in Dallas will cost $265 (£195). ESTC members discovered that a semi-final ticket would set them back a minimum of £687, up from £508 for the quarter-finals. By comparison, following England from the first match of Euro 2024 to the final with tickets in the 'fans first' category would have cost €375 (£328).
FSE's outrage was shared by the England supporters group Free Lions, which said on X: 'This can't be allowed to happen. Match-goers across the world deserve protection from these rip-off prices.'
