FIFA Faces Calls To Halt World Cup Ticket Sales After ‘Monumental Betrayal’ Of Fans

FIFA is under mounting pressure to freeze World Cup ticket sales after fresh figures exposed the eye-watering costs facing the tournament’s most loyal supporters. Reports reveal that the cheapest tickets for next summer’s World Cup final could exceed £3,000.

According to The Guardian report, Football Supporters Europe (FSE), which represents fans across Europe, slammed the prices as a “monumental betrayal” and urged a halt to ticket sales.

The warning came after England supporters discovered that attending every match of their team’s campaign could cost up to $16,590 (£12,375) in the top categories.

The Croatian Football Federation provided clarity by publishing its participant member association (PMA) ticket prices. This allocation is intended for fans attending the most matches, offering fixed prices rather than the controversial dynamic pricing system that adjusts costs according to demand.

The federation listed the cheapest ticket for the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on 19 July at $4,185 (£3,120). FSE reacted furiously, noting that the minimum a dedicated fan would spend following their team from the first match to the final is $6,900 (£5,138) – around five times the cost for a similar journey at Qatar 2022.

Including flights and accommodation across the USA, Canada, and Mexico, total expenses could easily double.

“Football Supporters Europe is astonished by the extortionate ticket prices imposed by FIFA on the most dedicated supporters for next year’s World Cup,” FSE said.

“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, consult 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.”

Members of the England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC) expressed similar shock. Tickets for England’s opening match against Croatia in Dallas start at $265 (£195), while games against Ghana in Boston and Panama in New Jersey cost at least $220 (£165).

Knockout matches are significantly pricier, with quarter-finals at £508 and semi-finals at £687, and last-16 and last-32 games at £220 and £175, respectively.

According to The Guardian, these prices represent a monumental betrayal of loyal fans, forcing many to reconsider attending the tournament. By comparison, following England through Euro 2024 from the first game to the final in UEFA’s “fans first” category would have cost €375 (£328).

Even stepping up one ticket category would have brought the total to €860 (£753). Fans also learned this week that visitors to the US might need to disclose five years of social media activity under proposals from President Donald Trump’s administration.

FSE’s outrage was echoed by 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.”

The controversy comes as FIFA launched a random ticket lottery, open to all fans until 13 January. Tickets in earlier sales windows were subject to dynamic pricing, which fluctuates with demand. PMA allocations, by contrast, account for just 8% of each stadium’s capacity.

FSE also criticised FIFA for not adopting standard prices across group matches, saying costs appear to have been set according to “vague criteria such as the perceived attractiveness of the fixture.”