Football fans around the world are criticising Fifa for “ridiculous” prices at this year's World Cup, with tickets in the final tranche of sales going for thousands of dollars each.
Fifa opened its sales window for the last time this week before the Cup's June 11 opening, which is taking place across the US, Canada and Mexico.
It took three hours on Thursday to pass from an online queuing system to a sales window where tickets were available to buy. Very few were left and frequently only single tickets could be bought, meaning a fan could not go to a match with a friend.
Tickets for an early group game between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina were still available for $2,240 each, but games for the finals all seemed to be sold out.
The Athletic, owned by The New York Times, had reported that top-tier tickets for the final on July 19 were going for more than $10,000. That is a significant mark-up from less than $7,000 when they first went on sale.
Even that initial price was way above the figure quoted in the co-hosts’ bid book submitted to Fifa, which pledged that a Category 1 ticket for the final would cost $1,550.
A spokesperson for the Football Supporters’ Association told the Press Association on Thursday: “This is the most expensive World Cup in history for travelling supporters, from match tickets to travel and accommodation. It isn’t just an issue for English fans but for those across the planet.
“Fifa's ridiculous ticket pricing and opaque policies have led many fans to conclude they simply can’t afford to attend football’s greatest global event.”
Fifa did not immediately respond to The National's request for comment.
Els Bruggeman, the head of advocacy and enforcement at Euroconsumers, said her organisation recently filed a complaint with Fifa about high ticket prices, its “bait advertising” and the use of dynamic pricing.
“People are willing to pay a fair price for the value that they get in return. But this is way beyond having a fair price any more. This is just mere profit maximisation,” Ms Bruggeman told The National.
She said Fifa had told her high ticket costs were normal in the US.
“Well, I have news for Fifa. This isn't an American tournament. This is a World Cup, which means that teams from all over the world want to compete, yes, on American soil, but it's a World Cup,” she said.
