FIFA has defended its World Cup ticket pricing policy, saying it will also accommodate real fans as England prepare to find out who they will face in this Friday’s draw.
FIFA has claimed that thousands of affordable World Cup tickets will be sold to England fans in a ‘ring-fence’. Football’s world governing body plans to sell 8% of its allocation for all England matches to genuine supporters at prices starting from £45 in the group stage, but the full price list is yet to be finalized.
This is being done to ensure ticket prices are fixed for genuine fans and allocated through the Football Association, which has its own England Supporters Travel Club. England will find out their opponents in the World Cup draw in Washington on Friday, with venues and full fixtures to be announced in 24 hours.
Tickets, reserved for England supporters and all participating member associations, will be on sale from December 11th to January 13th and will include all group matches and knock-offs until the final on Sunday July 19th.
read more: Thomas Tuchel says he is ‘hurt’ about England’s job as he issues World Cup warningread more: England’s World Cup hopes get a big boost as FIFA confirms fundamental changes
General admission prices have increased significantly in the US, Canada and Mexico, with tickets for the opening game in the US costing £400 and the cheapest ticket for the final at £1,500, but FIFA insists it will cater to genuine traveling fans.
A FIFA statement said: “FIFA may, as has been the case for previous FIFA World Cups, confirm allocations of enclosures to be reserved for specific fan categories. These allocations will be set at fixed prices during the next stage of ticket sales.”
“The ring-fenced allocation includes tickets reserved for supporters of Participating Member Associations (PMA), with Participating Member Associations (PMA) supporters being allocated 8% of tickets for each match they participate in, including all conditional knockout stage matches.
“Please also note that ticket applications for members of the public purchasing tickets during the random drawing period starting December 11th will also be based on list price.”
FIFA has come under fire over its pricing model for the World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. They argue that using “adaptive pricing” requires careful decisions and is different from dynamic pricing, where the value of a ticket increases dramatically depending on demand.
Following the uproar over last summer’s Oasis concert ticket sales, the UK government has introduced legislation to crack down on “dynamic pricing”, where tickets are sold at inflated prices on secondary ticketing websites.
FIFA cannot put a cap on ticket prices because the secondary sales market is legal in the United States and Canada and represents a multibillion-dollar business. Mexico has different rules and there is no secondary market within the country with a cap on the price of games.
FIFA has launched its own resale site to discourage fans from being tempted to move to other platforms, where profits will go toward ticket sales and a 15% commission will be charged to sellers and buyers.
More than 6 million tickets are expected to be sold for the tournament, but 2 million have already been sold, with sales on the FIFA resale site remaining “minimal”. But FIFA insists that tickets will be sold first and foremost through normal channels and that profits, including those from its own resale sites, will be returned to the football community, with more than 50% of federations relying on FIFA’s income to survive.
FIFA said: “The pricing model adopted for the 26th FIFA World Cup routinely reflects existing market practices for major entertainment and sporting events at the venue, including football.”
“This also reflects the treatment of the secondary market for tickets, which has different legal treatment than in many other parts of the world. We are focused on ensuring fair access to games for existing fans as well as future fans.
“It is also important to add that the stadium category map does not reflect the number of tickets available in a particular category, but instead indicates default seating locations. FIFA’s resale fees are consistent with industry trends in North America across various sports and entertainment sectors.”
“It is important to note that, as a non-profit organization, the profits FIFA receives from the World Cup are reinvested to foster the growth of the sport (men’s, women’s and youth) across the 211 FIFA member associations around the world.
“As a matter of fact, FIFA plans to reinvest more than 90% of its planned investments in the 2023-2026 cycle back into the game, in order to significantly accelerate the development of world football.
“Without FIFA’s financial support, more than 50% of FIFA member associations could not operate.”
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive daily Mirror Football content. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Sky Sports Premier League and EFL package discounts
£49
£35
sky
Get the deal here
Sky has reduced the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 on their bill and offering more than 1,400 live matches from Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will broadcast at least 215 live Premier League matches next season, with an increase of up to 100 more.
