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Soccer fans accused FIFA of a “gross betrayal” after the latest prices for World Cup tickets became available on Thursday.
The governing body allocates 8% of tickets for matches attended by their teams to national associations to sell to their most loyal fans.
And a list published by the German Football Federation reveals that prices for various group stage matches range from $180 to $700 (153 euros to 595 euros). The lowest price for a ticket to the final was $4,185 (3,561 euros) and the highest price was $8,680 (7,387 euros).
Prices for these group stages differ widely from FIFA’s claim that $60 (51 euros) tickets are available, while US football officials’ goal when bidding for the tournament seven years ago was to offer hundreds of thousands of dollars for $21 (17 euros) seats in the early stages of games.
Fan group Football Supporters Europe (FSE) described the current price as “exorbitant”.
“This is a monumental betrayal of World Cup tradition and ignores supporters’ contributions to this spectacle,” the group said in a statement.
FIFA announced in September that tickets going on sale through its website would initially range from $60 (51 euros) for group stage matches to $6,730 (5,727 euros) for the final. However, these prices are subject to change as the World Cup will be using dynamic pricing for the first time.
FIFA tickets are divided into four categories, with category 1 containing the best seats.
The price list published by the German Confederation had only three categories.
The lowest priced ticket was for Germany’s group stage opener against CuraΓ§ao in Houston for $180 (153 euros). The lowest price for the semi-finals was $920 (783 euros) and rose to $1,125 (957 euros).
The FSE called on FIFA to immediately suspend ticket sales through national associations “until a solution is found that respects the tradition, universality and cultural importance of the World Cup.”
latest phase
FIFA launched the third phase of widespread ticket sales on Thursday, allowing fans to apply for specific matches for the first time through a “random draw”.
The updated schedule has been released following last week’s draw for the 2026 tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
This means fans know when and where Lionel Messi, the Argentina national team and others will be playing. Previous ticket voting was blind as the qualifying period had not ended and the lottery had not yet taken place.
Currently, participating countries are divided into groups to determine their path through the tournament.
However, there is no guarantee that fans will get tickets to the games they apply for. The draw begins on December 11th and ends on January 13th.
FIFA says ticket applications can be submitted at any time during this period and the timing of entry will not affect your chances of winning.
Fans can apply for up to four tickets per household per game and up to 40 tickets during the tournament through the FIFA website.
Fans will need a FIFA ID to apply for tickets and can select the match and price category they wish to apply for.
There are four categories, with category 1 having the best seats and category 4 having seats near the top of the stadium.
Successful applicants will be notified via email in February and automatically billed.
Additional sources of information β’ AP