FSA response to ticket pricing policies and reports that FIFA has backtracked on dynamic pricing…

Thomas Concannon from the FSA’s England Fans’ Embassy team said:

“We still have far more questions than answers as supporters find themselves budgeting to hand over thousands of pounds to FIFA without knowing the full score.

“We already knew that fans who are able to purchase tickets via their FAs would not be affected by dynamic ticket pricing but this doesn’t mean that prices are suddenly acceptable or that all other ticketing details are known.

“Supporters who are allocated Category 3 tickets, one of the ‘cheapest’ categories, will still have to pay $4,700 to attend all matches should England reach the final. Who knows if cheaper Category 4 tickets will be available? FIFA hasn’t bothered to tell fans.

“Obviously supporters can’t fully plan their trip until the draw is made but if people actually knew how much tickets are going to cost then they can start to look at flights and accommodation options while budgeting accordingly.

“We assume the competing nations will receive 8% of the allocation but, again, who knows? FIFA has not released this information despite the World Cup host nations being confirmed in 2018. Why is it a secret? How are matchgoers meant to plan?

“Some England regulars with lower loyalty points might find themselves having to apply for Category 1 tickets which would, in total, cost more than $12,000.

“FIFA will take this money in the next couple of months and hold it until England exit (or win) the World Cup. This is the same for every nation meaning FIFA will bank the interest on millions and millions of dollars handed over by supporters around the world.

“They will then add insult to injury by charging supporters an admin fee of $10 per match to get their own money back. If your country crashes out in the group stage FIFA will have, in effect, charged you $50 for ghost games which never happen. This is legal and entirely immoral.

“We have advocated for a ‘pay-as-you-go’ system which operated perfectly well for UEFA during the Euros. There’s no reason FIFA can’t do the same.”

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