FIFA’s pricing of tickets at the World Cup isn’t just a disgusting portrayal of greed, it is a reflection on the state of football in the modern world.
The beautiful game has become a spectacle where the few are prioritised over the many. Once a sport for the masses to enjoy, seats at the world’s greatest sporting events are now reserved for the elite. Monetary status and political affiliations now conquer all, and the latest World Cup set to take place in the USA, Canada and Mexico is the clearest example of how far football has fallen into the hands of corporate greed in recent years.
At the draw for this year’s World Cup, FIFA President Gianni Infantino awarded President Donald Trump with the FIFA Peace Prize award. In Infantino’s words, it was presented to Trump for his “exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace”. Rather appropriately, however, the trophy resembled a collection of bony hands reaching towards a charred earth that somewhat foreshadows a grim future with the multi-billion-dollar President in charge.
This display of rewarding egregious wealth and influence set the precedent for what should be expected at the 2026 World Cup. The attitudes of that night – where those at the top adorned each other with meaningless awards just to fuel one another’s egos – highlighted what was to come, as ticket prices have revealed.
FIFA’s official resale website has marketed some passes for the World Cup Final at over $2 million each. Yes, you read that correctly. This is an eye-watering sum that prices out every typical football fan from attending the greatest event on earth. Whilst the consumers pockets get lighter, those within FIFA get heavier as it has been revealed that a 15% fee from both the seller and buyer of tickets will fall into the lap of the governing body. The justification for this? As a FIFA spokesperson put it,
“FIFA has established a ticket sales and secondary market model that reflects standard ticket market practices for major sporting events and entertainments events across the host countries.”
Some may argue therefore that FIFA are only copying practices that are already in place and capitalising on a system that benefits them. This is commonplace in ticket sales for major entertainment events most notably at the recent Oasis concert where pricing soared. Music festivals and gigs regularly adapt ticket prices as demand grows so the introduction of this system to sports is not largely unexpected. However, a football match is not a music concert or festival. It is so much more.
Football has the ability to bring nations together regardless of politics or geography. All over the world, people are connected through a joint passion that resonates throughout generations. Tales of Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ know no limit of time and echo throughout eternity. Giovanni Van Bronckorst’s howitzer against Uruguay in 2010 is etched into legend forever, and Bobby Moore lifting the Jules Rimet provides hope for every Englishman that football will come home once more.
These events cannot simply be bought or sold to the highest bidder. But as the latest ticket prices at this year’s World Cup reveal, football is becoming a sport that only those with extortionate wealth can access.
Take football shirt prices as an example. The kit that your own team wears forms part of the identity of your football club. Fans adorn themselves with the colours of their team but this has become more of a challenge recently. In England’s top division, half of the clubs charge £85 for a men’s shirt meanwhile the other 10 clubs begin their pricing at £60. Over the past decade, the average price of a replica Premier League kit for adults has increased by 50.7% and 46.8% for junior kits, prompting many to invest in counterfeit shirts at a cheaper price. The increase in prices would therefore lead you to expect a higher quality product but as kit manufacturers like Castore have shown, this is not always the case.
Nike’s latest release of kits for this summer’s World Cup have also come under scrutiny as stitching issues around the shoulders cause the shirts to buckle and crease. Therefore, whilst prices soar it is not uncommon for quality to decline.
Unfortunately, this issue does not just exist within England’s top division. Further down the football pyramid the same problems occur. Several clubs within the Championship also begin their pricing at £60 and have caused many fans to avoid purchasing the latest releases. That being said, I recently bought a new shirt for this season, but only when it went on sale at 50% off and this was the first shirt I purchased since the 2018/19 season. Whilst I admit that I fell into the trap of a BOGOF offer, it presented me with an opportunity that is not often available and acts as a stark reminder of how people like me have been restricted from buying new shirts due to pricing issues.
Football fans are also missing out on the games themselves as the Spanish Super Cup displays – note the key word Spanish as the event was hosted in Saudi Arabia and has been since 2020. The sport is being both physically and metaphorically moved away from the true fans of the sport which has created a disconnect between supporters and the sport’s governing bodies. Sadly, the divide is only going to continue as the Middle East extended its privileges to host the competition until 2029.
Similar trends have also appeared in Champions League finals where fans of the two clubs involved in the events have been restricted to limited ticket numbers. In 2022, Liverpool were allocated 19,618 tickets for the Champions League Final clash with Real Madrid hosted at the Stade de France. This number equated to roughly one quarter of the stadium’s capacity (75,000), with over 50% of these tickets priced between £100.63 to £125.79. To make matters worse, around 23,000 seats were made available to broadcasters, commercial partners and UEFA’s hospitality programme. In other words, one third of the stadium’s capacity was offered to the corporate elite in a shocking move that highlighted the prioritisation of money over fans.
Broadcasts of football on TV are also behind strict paywalls. It seems an endless stream of money is required to simply follow the sport live with Sky Sports and TNT Sports both demanding in excess of £22 a month to view their content. Just 15 years ago, the only limitation to watching Arsenal beat Barcelona 2-1 in the Champions League was that you had a TV. Now it is a requirement to input your bank details on a website to replicate somewhat of the same experience. Both attending games and watching on TV are costing the consumer great sums of money and that is without discussing the price of flights from Spain to Saudi Arabia.
Not all is lost, however. A small shimmering light at the end of the tunnel has appeared as the 2028 Euros approaches. Many tickets will be capped with dynamic pricing being refused. The cost of three tickets for the European competition will equal the price of a parking space at this year’s World Cup (£171) which shows the dramatic differences between the two.
Collaborations between English Championship clubs are also occurring in an effort to provide affordable tickets. Leeds United and Cardiff City announced reciprocal pricing for both of their games in the 2023/2024 season. This ensured that tickets were held at a set price for travelling supporters for both games, allowing away fans to focus on the games rather than their wallets.
Initiatives to keep the sport accessible are present. Despite this, they are unfortunately too few and far between. Increases in costs for supporters are far more frequent and this trend is likely to persist long into the future as football continues to globalise.
The expansion of the sport around the globe leads to greater competition for tickets and as this competition grows, so does the opportunity to make money. Therefore, it appears the beautiful game is open to everyone but only a select group of people have access to seats.
