FIFA accused of ‘massive betrayal’ over latest World Cup ticket prices

KANIKA SINGH RATHORE,

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Football fans accused fifa A “significant betrayal” occurred after the latest prices for World Cup tickets were broadcast on Thursday.

The governing body allocates 8% of the tickets to national associations for games involving their team in order to sell to the most loyal fans.

And a list published by the German Soccer Federation showed that prices for individual group stage games ranged from $180-$700. The lowest price for the final was $4,185 and the highest price was $8,680.

Group-stage prices are a far cry from FIFA’s claim of $60 tickets being available, while Target’s United States of America Soccer officials offered hundreds of thousands of $21 seats at the early stages of the games when bidding for the tournament seven years ago.

Fan organization Football Supporters Europe (FSE) described the current prices as “extortionate”.

“This is a huge betrayal of World Cup tradition, ignoring the contributions of supporters,” it said in a statement.

english football association Pricing information was shared with the England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC) on Thursday evening, which revealed that if a fan purchased a ticket for every game up to the final it would cost more than $7,000.

FIFA said in September that tickets released through its website would initially range in price from $60 for group-stage matches to $6,730 for the final. But these prices may change as it adopts dynamic pricing for the first time at the World Cup.

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FIFA tickets are available in four categories, with the best seats in Category 1.

The price list published by the German Federation contained only three categories.

The lowest priced ticket was $180 for Germany’s opening group game against Curaçao houstonThe minimum price for the semi-finals was $920, rising to $1,125,

The FSE called on FIFA to immediately stop ticket sales through national associations, “until a solution can be found that respects the tradition, universality and cultural significance of the World Cup.”

associated Press FIFA has been contacted for comment.

latest stage

FIFA launched the third phase of mass ticket sales on Thursday, with fans now able to apply for specific matches for the first time through a “random selection draw”.

Following last week’s draw for the 2026 tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, an updated schedule has been published.

This means fans know when and where players like Lionel Messi and the Argentine will be playing. The previous ticket ballots were blind because the qualifying period had not yet completed and the draw had not yet taken place.

Now the participating countries have been placed in groups, and their paths through the tournament have been determined. For example, if Argentina and Portugal both top their groups, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could face off in the quarter-finals in Kansas City.

It’s not like fans are guaranteed to get tickets to the games they apply for.

The draw opened on December 11 at 11am ET (1600 GMT) and will close on January 13, 2026.

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FIFA says applications for tickets can be made at any time during this window and the time of entry will not affect the chances of success. Fans can apply through the FIFA website for a maximum of four tickets per family per match, and a maximum of 40 tickets during the entire tournament.

Fans will need a FIFA ID to apply for tickets and can choose which match they want to apply for and which pricing tier.

Successful applicants will be notified by email in February and will be charged automatically.

prices

The last time the US hosted the World Cup in 1994, prices ranged from $25 to $475. Prices ranged from around $70 to $1,600 when ticket details were announced in Qatar in 2022.

Tickets for the final at MetLife Stadium on July 19 are already selling for more than $11,000 on secondary resale sites.

FIFA has also set up its own resale platform for this tournament where it charges a 15% fee based on the total resale value.

FIFA said that at the close of the tournament any remaining tickets would go on general sale on a first-come, first-served basis.

It did not give any time frame for releasing those remaining tickets.

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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.

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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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