Marrakech – The global reactions to FIFA’s pricing of World Cup tickets since last Thursday has pushed the governing body to add a new category of tickets.
These new tickets, priced at a fixed rate of $60 (≈ 550 MAD), will be available at all 104 matches of the tournament, from the group stage all the way to the final, FIFA said in a December 16 statement.
This new category of tickets, titled Supporter Entry Tier, will be available exclusively to supporters of qualified teams, with the selection and distribution processes falling on the Participating Member Associations (PMAs). In its statement, FIFA requested PMAs to “ensure that these tickets are specifically allocated to loyal fans who are closely connected to their national teams.”
In the statement, FIFA specified that the new Supporter Entry Tier will represent 10% of each PMA’s allocation. 40% of the allocation will remain within the Supporter Value Tier, with average ticket prices around $220. The remaining 50% of the PMA’s allocations will be split evenly between the pricier Supporter Standard Tier and the Supporter Premier Tier.
With each PMA’s allocation being 8% of the total tickets available for each qualifying match, these new Supporter Entry Tier $60 tickets will only represent 1.6% of total tickets available per match, with 0.8% going to each PMA.
In concrete numbers, this FIFA endeavor translates to a range of 720 to 1504 $60 tickets available each match, depending on venue size, a figure still considered too small by football fan associations.
In a statement released this morning, the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) described FIFA’s statement as “PR games.”
“This is a step in the right direction, as it shows changes for good can be made, but it still leaves 90% of loyal, hardcore supporters paying ridiculous prices,” Tom Greatrex, FSA chair, said. “Rather than playing PR games FIFA needs to do the right thing and set prices at a reasonable price for all supporters, and FAs need to apply pressure on them to do just that.”
Football Supporters Europe, another major supporter association, expressed a similar stance in reaction to FIFA’s pricing, with director Ronan Evain telling Reuters that, although this was a step in the right direction, it was “clearly not sufficient.”
The ongoing third-phase ticket sales’ draw will remain open until January 13. For now, it is unclear if FIFA will respond to the supporters’ associations’ demands.
