British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has become the most prominent leader to speak out about discontent over World Cup ticket prices, calling on FIFA to do more to keep the tournament affordable for fans.
His comments come after FIFA, under pressure from national associations and fan groups, introduced a limited number of cheaper tickets, writes Politico.
“I welcome FIFA’s announcement of some cheaper tickets for supporters but, as someone who used to save up for England tickets, I encourage FIFA to do more to make tickets more affordable so the World Cup doesn’t lose touch with the real fans who make the game special,” Starmer wrote in a statement.
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani also weighed in on the issue, promising to appoint a commissioner to pressure FIFA to lower prices ahead of the 2026 tournament, which will be held in the US, Mexico and Canada.
FIFA’s ticket price plan has sparked international outrage as fans fear they will be locked out of the sport’s biggest event. Particular criticism has been leveled at the use of dynamic pricing, which allows ticket prices to vary depending on demand.
At the time of the joint bid by the USA, Canada and Mexico to host the World Cup, tickets were offered for $21. Before the recent price adjustment, the cheapest tickets for any round were above $100, while no ticket for the finals was below $4,185.
The organization, which represents millions of fans in more than 50 countries, pointed out that fans of different national teams will pay different prices for tickets of the same category at the same stage of the tournament, without transparency on how the prices are determined.
FIFA announced on Tuesday that it will lower prices for a small portion of tickets reserved for the national associations’ most loyal fans. Those fans will be able to buy tickets for as little as $60 for every game, including the final, compared to previous prices that ran into the thousands.
Discounted tickets will be distributed by national associations to fans who have attended previous matches at home and abroad.
However, they make up only a small fraction of available seats, around 1.6 percent of tickets per game.
(Vijesti.ba/Fena)
