Soccer fan group Football Supporters Europe has said that it “is ‘astonished’ by FIFA’s ‘extortionate’ pricing strategy” and called for ticket sales “to be ‘halted immediately,’” according to Dale Johnson of BBC.com. BBC Sport noted that tickets for the final at MetLife Stadium are in three tiers: “Supporter value tier” at $4,185; “Supporter standard tier” at $5,560; and “Supporter premium tier” at $8,860. Tickets to FIFA’s showpiece event are “as much as seven times more expensive” than the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In a departure from recent tournaments, group stage games are “priced based on the perceived popularity of the teams involved, rather than at a flat rate.” The Football Supporters’ Association’s England Fans’ Embassy called the “prices a ‘slap in the face’ for supporters.” On Monday, members of national supporters’ clubs will get the “chance to enter a random draw for individual games, or to follow their team through to the final.” There are about 4,000 tickets for each game available through the official supporters’ groups (BBC.com, 12/11). FSE said, “This is a monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup, ignoring the contribution of supporters to the spectacle it is” (London GUARDIAN, 12/11).
PRICING MATTER: In London, Matt Lawton noted on Thursday, The English Football Association emailed members of the England Supporters’ Travel Club with the pricing bands it has received from FIFA. The FA understands that fans with ESTC loyalty points accrued by following England men’s national team “will be offered better category two tickets -- that tend to be higher up in the stands but are at least side-on to the pitch -- at category three prices.” But fans have been “left stunned” by the overall cost of trying to support the England side in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico next summer (London TIMES, 12/11). In London, Owen Slot wrote the cost of tickets for the World Cup in the U.S. next summer is “so scandalously high that they will price thousands of ordinary fans out of the competition.” This is the “ultimate confirmation of FIFA’s complete disregard for football fans.” Slot: “Let’s also be clear about where this new flood of income is going. It is nothing to do with the American hosts or the American organising committee; these are ticket prices set by FIFA, with the revenue going to FIFA too.” FIFA has “taken a gamble on America here.” More than any other nation in the world, the U.S. has sports fans that are “accustomed to paying whopping prices to see live sport.” Slot: “I suspect that what we will see is a number of traditional fans simply deciding not to come. Too expensive. Simple as that” (London TIMES, 12/11).
