Shortly after the hue and cry about the high costs of tickets for the World Cup, Scotland coach Steve Clarke advised the fans, “We can’t control the prices… Don’t put yourselves into too much debt trying to get there.”  Following the growing pressure, FIFA responded by launching another, cheaper tier of tickets. However, even this latest move hasn’t gone down well with fans.

Earlier today, FIFA announced the addition of £45 tickets ($60) per game, including the final. However, these tickets won’t be a part of the general sale but rather will be sold directly to fans by the football associations of the 48 countries participating in the tournament.

FIFA claims the reduced prices are meant to further accommodate traveling international fans who will follow their national teams throughout the tournament. The announcement, however, creates an imbalance where some fans will be able to take advantage of the new cheap tickets, while others would be stuck shelling out thousands of dollars for the same one.

The anger at FIFA’s original ticket pricing structure, which saw prices increase by as much as 500 percent compared to the 2022 tournament in Qatar, has still not simmered down. With those original prices, the cheapest ticket available to Scotland fans would have cost £134 for Scotland’s opening group match against Haiti – a price many fans may still have to pay if they are unable to purchase the cheaper tickets.

Other fixtures, such as England vs. Croatia and Scotland vs. Brazil, were priced from £198 even for the lowest-tier seats. Supporters quickly accused FIFA of pricing loyal fans out of the competition, though the new price point offers a better, but limited, alternative.

According to FIFA, 40 percent of tickets will fall under a Supporter Value Tier, with the remaining 50 percent split evenly between Supporter Standard and Supporter Premier tiers. And yet, as the World Cup draws closer, frustration among fans remains high.

Fans rage over a FIFA World Cup final’s “cheap” tickets

One fan said, “£45 for the final? insane.” Another fan commented, “This has actually pissed me off more, so you’re telling me for the final someone will pay $60 and the person next to them could be paying $4,000+. Scandalous from FIFA again who think they’re doing everyone a favour. Reduce all supporters ticket prices down 50%/60% now.”

The frustration makes sense once you look at the numbers. The $60 tickets are extremely limited. They account for only about 10% of the tickets given to national associations, and after those are distributed, there may be only a few hundred $60 seats available per match. For a high-demand game like the final, most fans will never even get a chance to buy one.

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Meanwhile, the vast majority of tickets remain expensive. For the final, regular prices still run into the thousands. Before the discounted tier existed, official prices showed final tickets starting around $4,185 and going beyond $8,000 in higher categories.  So while the headline price of $60 sounds generous, it applies to very few people.

Fans who follow their team all the way to the final under normal pricing could still end up paying around $6,900 or more, even before adding travel and accommodation. One more fan added, “Almost more of an insult knowing some will be potentially paying £45 for a final ticket and the next best is 3k haha.” Another added, “‘m probably going to boycott this WC.” And it is not just fans raising concerns.

Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters’ Europe, which represents fans across European football, dismissed FIFA’s move as superficial. He said the group was “looking at the FIFA announcement as nothing more than an appeasement tactic due to the global negative backlash.” Evain also questioned how the policy was made, adding, “This shows that FIFA’s ticketing policy is not set in stone, was decided in a rush, and without proper consultation, including with FIFA’s own member associations.”

One more fan added, “Still pathetic.” Another called it a “meaningless gesture.” The problem has since escalated; British Prime Minister Keir Starmer commented publicly, tweeting on X, “I encourage FIFA to do more to make tickets more affordable so that the World Cup doesn’t lose touch with the genuine supporters.”

All of this is happening as demand has continued to skyrocket. For the current sales phase, FIFA has already received over 20 million ticket requests, which translates to a high level of competition but low availability of affordable tickets.