Amid backlash against exorbitant prices for the 2026 World Cup, Fifa on Tuesday announced it had created a new tier of tickets specifically for supporters of the involved teams for each game, with prices capped at $60 (€51) per ticket for every match of the tournament, including the final.
The new pricing category will be part of the allotment of tickets distributed by the associations for the participating teams, who each get 8 per cent of available tickets for every match they play.
The new pricing tier, called the entry tier, will comprise 10 per cent of that allotment, or 1.6 per cent of all available tickets taking into account both sets of supporters. Given the size of most 2026 World Cup stadiums, that amounts to a little over 1,000 tickets per match available at that price point, split evenly between supporters of both teams.
Fifa said in its announcement that, like the rest of the 8 per cent of tickets available to team supporters, the distribution of these tickets will be handled by each member association.
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Fifa added that the associations are “requested to ensure that these tickets are specifically allocated to loyal fans who are closely connected to their national teams”, but offered no specifics.
The ticket prices for next year’s showpiece event, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, have come under fire from all sides since first going on sale.
Though Fifa set a $60 price floor for the cheapest tickets to group stage matches, their use of dynamic pricing has driven prices for those matches and those in the knock-out round well into the high hundreds and often thousands.
The pricing practice – common in North America for sports and concerts – is expected to help deliver record revenues to Fifa off the back of an expanded tournament, the first to feature 48 teams. The ticket allocation for supporters available through football associations have been similarly priced to those available to the general public, though now with the exception of the newly-announced entry tier.
Critics of Fifa’s ticketing policy have included Football Supporters Europe, who called the latest pricing update a “monumental betrayal” and “extortionate” in a statement earlier this month.
New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani also took exception, calling the prices an “affront to the game” and launching a petition to Fifa as an extension to his ultimately successful campaign to run New York City.
Fifa officials have at various points defended dynamic pricing as something that is natural and expected in the North American market, while also pointing to the benefits increased revenue will bring to its member associations.
Fifa said in its release that it had received over 20 million requests for tickets, including five million in the first 24 hours, of the latest sales phase for the World Cup, which began on December 11th and runs until January 13th.
If Heimir Hallgrímsson’s Republic of Ireland team come through two playoff matches next March to qualify, regular tickets for their games in Group A will range from €119 for a Category 3 ticket for the game against South Africa in Atlanta on June 18th to €595 for a Category 1 ticket for the game against co-host Mexico in Mexico City on June 24th.– Guardian
