Fifa starts World Cup climbdown after uproar over ticket prices | OneFootball

Fifa has started a climbdown on the scandal of 2026 World Cup ticket prices, as 10 per cent of all allocations for qualified nations will now involve tickets fixed at just $60 (£44.70) for every game. The announcement was nevertheless made without any consultation with fan groups, who didn’t know it was coming and feel the numbers are still divisively low.

England, for example, have 610 supporters with “top caps” – the fans who have hit a certain number of appearances to warrant priority treatment – but such a number is unlikely to be fully covered by the “newly introduced Supporter Entry Tier” at any individual match. It could mean one fan pays $480 if England go all the way to the final, and another – with identical caps – pays around $7,000.

What’s more, over 98 per cent of tickets for the tournament remain unchanged.

Football Supporters Europe say: “Following significant pressure from supporters, Fifa has partially relented on its ticket price structuring.

“This shows that Fifa’s ticketing policy is not set in stone, was decided in a rush, and without proper consultation – including with Fifa’s own member associations.

“While we welcome Fifa’s seeming recognition of the damage its original plans were to cause, the revisions do not go far enough to reconcile.

“Based on the allocations publicly available, this would mean that at best a few hundred fans per match and team would be lucky enough to take advantage of the $60 prices, while the vast majority would still have to pay extortionate prices, way higher than at any tournament before.”

The climbdown comes after meetings over the weekend and early this week with senior officials in Doha, Qatar, where initial feedback on pricing was discussed. Some associations had indicated they would share supporter concerns. One Fifa official close to discussions insisted “feedback had been listened to” and said “no organisation does more to support the development of the game around the world than Fifa. All 211 associations, including the poorest countries, will benefit from a commercially successful World Cup.”

Other sources were talking of the game’s governing body just paying for “PR spin” and a negligible loss of income that could be retrieved in ads for water breaks.

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Ten per cent of all allocations for qualified nations will involve tickets fixed for every game at just $60 (Getty)

There are already plans from fan groups to push for more, amid a belief that the proportion of the $60 tickets should be pushed up to 50 per cent, and that they should come out of the most expensive category 1 tickets, not categories 2 or 3.

At the least, the announcement displays an opening for a Fifa climbdown after almost a week of intense criticism over ticket prices.

It is understood that the Football Association was prepared to “relay concerns” to Fifa, but it has, as of yet, issued no public statement.

Controversial administration fees will also be waived for refunds when teams are eliminated – although fans will still have to pay up front for the entirety of the World Cup.

The announcement notably came shortly after another ticketing controversy, which saw accessibility tickets appear on Fifa’s own resale site at more than six times the original face value. The Disability and Inclusion Fan Network of Football Supporters Europe wrote a letter to Fifa president Gianni Infantino expressing “profound concern” over the issue. Fifa was also accused of contradicting its own statutes and public sentiments on disability, amid reference to Infantino’s notorious “I feel” press conference in Qatar in 2022.

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The announcement comes shortly after another ticketing controversy involving accessibility tickets (AP)

FSE similarly stressed such concerns, saying: “There’s also still the question of supporters with disabilities, as no new pricing structure has been announced for them, and complementary companion tickets still seem to be absent.

“For the moment, we are looking at the Fifa announcement as nothing more than an appeasement tactic due to the global negative backlash. We call upon Fifa to engage in a proper dialogue to arrive at a solution that respects the contribution of fans and the dignity of fans with disabilities.”

A Fifa announcement spoke of a newly designed supporter tier “to make following their teams on football’s greatest stage more affordable”.

It went on: “The newly introduced Supporter Entry Tier will be available at the fixed price of $60 per ticket for each of the 104 matches, including the final.

“The entry tier tickets will be allocated specifically to supporters of qualified teams, with the selection and distribution process managed individually by the Participating Member Associations (PMAs). Each PMA will define its own eligibility criteria and application process. They are requested to ensure that these tickets are specifically allocated to loyal fans who are closely connected to their national teams.

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Extortionate ticket prices have added to the dismay surrounding next summer’s World Cup in the United States (IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect)

“In total, 50 per cent of each PMA allocation will fall within the most affordable range, namely Supporter Value Tier (40 per cent) and the Supporter Entry Tier (10 per cent). The remaining allocation is split evenly between the Supporter Standard Tier and the Supporter Premier Tier.

“In addition, fans applying through the PMA allocation whose teams do not advance to the knockout phase will have the administrative fee waived when refunds are processed for unsuccessful applications.”

A Fifa source added: “Demand for tickets has been off the scale, more than 20 million requests so far in this latest phase. We have listened to feedback and this new category is the right thing to do.

“Making $60 tickets available to more fans, including the most loyal ones who travel, was agreed on unanimously.

“Associations will need to work out who best should receive them.

“It’s a unique tournament and a unique market in the USA, in particular, which allows resales on secondary platforms. The demand is sky high.”