With just six months remaining until the 2026 FIFA World Cup, football fans are facing a major shock. The tournament, which will feature 48 teams for the first time, already has its schedule announced, but FIFA’s revised ticket prices have caused widespread anger among supporters, particularly in Europe.
Fans Outraged by Soaring Ticket Prices
According to AP, the current ticket prices differ drastically from the amounts originally announced for the group stage. FIFA had initially stated that the lowest ticket for the group stage would cost $60 (around 7,318 Taka). However, seven years ago, during the U.S.’s bid to host the World Cup, the minimum first-round ticket price was set at only $21.
The German Football Federation recently published ticket rates for various group-stage matches. Prices now range from $180 (about 22,000 Taka) to $700 (around 85,384 Taka), while tickets for the final have a staggering minimum of $4,185 (5,11,000 Taka) and a maximum of $8,680 (10,58,000 Taka). Fans immediately reacted with anger over the high prices. Football Supporters Europe (FSE) described FIFA as a “fraud” and “money-grubber.”
FIFA’s Dynamic Pricing System Raises Concerns
FIFA had previously announced that tickets would start at $60 for group-stage matches and $5,730 for the final when released last September. However, the organization warned that prices could fluctuate under a new “dynamic pricing” system, marking the first time this approach is being used in a national World Cup. Tickets will be divided into four categories, with Category 1 offering the premium seats.
The German Federation also shared ticket rates for three categories. Germany, three-time World Cup champions, will face Curacao in Houston on June 14 for their opening Group E match. Minimum ticket prices for this match are $180 (22,000 Taka). Semi-final tickets have been priced between $920 and $1,125.
Ronan Ewen, executive director of FSE, expressed his frustration:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑨 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒍. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.”
FSE also criticized the high cost of final tickets, adding:
“𝑻𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒕 $4,000. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏. 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑨’𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅.”
As FIFA remains silent despite inquiries from AP and Reuters, football fans across Europe are calling for immediate action to address the “extortionate” ticket prices ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
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