London, Dec 16, (PA Media/dpa/GNA) – FIFA introduced cheaper World Cup tickets for national teams’ most loyal fans on Tuesday after an outcry over pricing erupted last week.
Fans who are part of national team travel clubs and loyalty schemes discovered last week, that the cheapest available tickets for next July’s final in New Jersey would be priced at over $4,000.
However, FIFA has now announced that 10% of the participant member association (PMA) allocation for each match will be priced at $60 – including for the final.
The decision follows meetings between senior officials in Doha this week, where federations are understood to have shared concerns about the pricing model. The FIFA Council meets in Qatar on Wednesday.
FIFA faced criticism from fan groups last week, with Football Supporters Europe (FSE) accusing them of a “monumental betrayal” of fans and urging the sport’s world governing body to halt the PMA allocation sale process.
The PMA allocation equates to 8% of stadium capacity per country per match.
A FIFA official close to the discussions said: “Demand for tickets has been off the scale, more than 20 million requests so far in this latest phase. We have listened to feedback and this new category is the right thing to do.
“Associations will need to work out who best should receive them. It’s a unique tournament and a unique market in the USA, in particular, which allows resales on secondary platforms. The demand is sky high.”
Earlier, FSE, along with its Disability and Inclusion Fan Network, said it had written to FIFA president Gianni Infantino to “condemn” a policy which it says denies disabled fans access to the lowest-priced category tickets and “departs sharply” from usual practice.
GNA