Khaberni - A group of football fans in Europe (FSE) has requested FIFA to immediately halt the sale of national teams' ticket quotas for the World Cup 2026, accusing the governing body of imposing "exorbitant" prices that threaten to exclude ordinary fans from attending the tournament.
The surge in prices and comparison with the Qatar World Cup:
The group confirmed that prices for tickets allocated to loyal fans, which are distributed through official fan associations, have reached "astronomical levels"".
Total cost: A fan who follows their team from the group stages to the final will have to pay at least 6900 dollars, which is five times the equivalent cost at the Qatar World Cup 2022.
Final match price: The price of a ticket for the final game reached about 4000 dollars.
Criticism of the new sales mechanisms:
The group described FIFA's decision as a "massive betrayal", where FIFA has decided to withhold the lowest-priced (category four) tickets from the most loyal fans to sell them to the general public through dynamic (variable) pricing.
The group also noted that FIFA will for the first time adopt dynamic pricing in the group stage matches based on the "attractiveness" of the match instead of fixed prices, which lacks transparency.
Impact of prices on attendance:
The executive director of the group, Ronan Evan, expressed his concern, confirming that this approach "jeopardizes the very nature of the tournament", as families may need a budget of up to 30,000 dollars to attend the tournament, an amount that the vast majority of fans cannot afford, threatening the absence of "colors and atmosphere" from the stands.
The group invited FIFA to temporarily stop sales and immediately open consultations to reach a solution that respects the "traditions of the World Cup and its universality"".
