FIFA has been criticised for its extremely controversial under heavy fire for ticket prices and policy for next year’s men’s World Cup, to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
A ten-day pre-sale window opened last week for Visa cardholders to register for tickets ahead of the October 1 release date.
But fans have blasted football’s global governing body for what it calls a “variable pricing” system, accusing FIFA of “living in a parallel universe” and showing little regard for supporters.
Under the policy, applicants allocated later purchase windows could be charged more for exactly the same seats.
FIFA insists variable pricing is different from dynamic pricing because human oversight, rather than an algorithm, sets the price changes, supposedly creating a gentler rise. Critics argue it’s still a cash grab.
New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has launched a petition, “Game Over Greed,” demanding FIFA ditch the system, cap resale prices and reserve 15 per cent of tickets for local residents at a discount.
Ronan Evain, the executive director of Fans’ group Football Supporters Europe (FSE) echoed the outrage, warning that escalating costs will price out ordinary supporters.
“We think FIFA is sending the wrong message by putting (variable pricing) in place for the World Cup,” Evain said in a statement.
“Their key argument is the legal framework in the US wouldn’t allow them to do anything else – I find that very hard to believe.
“Where FIFA is being completely irresponsible is that it’s going to be an expensive World Cup – expensive to travel within the US, expensive to go to the stadium, with hardly any public transport.
“None of that is within FIFA’s control. What FIFA does control is the price of their tickets, and the one item where they could have acted to – at least symbolically – reduce the overall cost of the competition for match-going fans.”
To add to frustrations, many fans reported glitches while trying to enter the pre-sale draw, with prices hidden until after applications close on 19 September.
FIFA has confirmed only that group-stage tickets will “start from” AUD $90, with no upper limit publicly stated.
The backlash highlights a widening gap between FIFA and the people who fill stadiums. Unless the organisation reconsiders, next year’s World Cup could be remembered as much for its sky-high ticket costs as for the football itself, pricing out real football fans.
