US President Donald Trump took part in last week's World Cup group stage draw

US President Donald Trump took part in last week's World Cup group stage draw

Fans' group Football Supporters Europe (FSE) called on Thursday for FIFA to stop the sale of tickets for next year's World Cup due to their "extortionate" cost.

According to FSE, the tickets for the competition in the United States, Canada and Mexico, running between June 11 and July 19, will cost almost five times more than the 2022 edition in Qatar.

"Football Supporters Europe is astonished by the extortionate ticket prices imposed by FIFA on the most dedicated supporters for next year's FIFA World Cup," umbrella lobby group FSE said.

It said that tickets allocated to national associations - typically distributed through official supporters' groups or loyalty programmes to their most dedicated fans - were reaching "astronomical" levels.

"Based on the information currently available to FSE, if a supporter were to follow their team from the first match to the final... it would cost them a minimum of $6,900.

"We call on FIFA to immediately halt ticket sales, engage in a consultation with all impacted parties, and review ticket prices and category distribution until a solution that respects the tradition, universality, and cultural significance of the World Cup is found."

FSE claimed World Cup organisers had promised much cheaper costs for the tournament, pointing to tickets priced from $21 in a bid document released in 2018.

"Where are these tickets now?" it asked.

"The full way to the final, according to the same bid book, was supposed to cost $2,242 in the cheapest category. This promise is long gone."

eba/lh/jde/iwd/mw

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.