The prices for World Cup tickets are higher than ever before – fans with disabilities are particularly affected and are now writing to the FIFA President.
The high ticket prices particularly disadvantage fans with disabilities, writes the “Fan Network for Disability and Inclusion” of the Football Supporters Europe (FSE) fan alliance in an open letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The ticket prices are prohibitive, the letter says.
“People with disabilities around the world often face additional, unavoidable costs related to their disability, including accessible transportation, accommodations, equipment and personal assistance,” said the fan alliance. “Extreme ticket prices therefore represent a significant barrier to participation in what should be a global football festival.”
Prices significantly increased compared to Qatar
Typically, wheelchair spaces and accessible spaces are usually offered in the lowest category or at a reduced price, the letter to Infantino said. At the World Cup in Qatar 2022, tickets for wheelchair users during the group phase cost 10 euros, including a free ticket for a companion.
“Four years later, fans with disabilities have to pay 12 to 38 times as much to attend a World Cup game,” complain the fans. This is also due to the fact that accompanying persons are now charged. All of this contradicts FIFA’s statement that the 2026 tournament will be “a groundbreaking event that sets new standards in diversity and inclusion.”
The letter refers to Infantino’s press conference before the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, when Infantino said that he felt, for example, like a guest worker, a homosexual or a person with a disability. “This attitude is obviously in contradiction to FIFA’s current pricing policy,” criticizes the fan alliance. “True inclusion requires policies that acknowledge structural disadvantage and break down barriers rather than reinforcing them.”
Criticism of ticket prices is increasing
Fan alliances had already criticized FIFA’s pricing policy. There are hardly any tickets at double-digit prices. Fans who get their tickets from national associations such as the DFB are also excluded from the cheapest category 4.
The tickets on sale are meanwhile subject to the principle of “dynamic pricing”, in which demand alone determines the price. In addition, a barely regulated resale at any price is permitted via a FIFA platform. Tickets there have already been offered for multiples. FIFA points out that the so-called “secondary market” is legal in the USA. Tickets for the German game against Curacao were available for almost $500 on Tuesday in the actually cheapest category 4 via the FIFA platform. At least $825 was due for the game against Ivory Coast.
A sport that should be for everyone is now only available to those who can afford it.”said the English fan association FSA. “This tournament has been robbed of all life before it even started.”
FIFA is counting on it record revenue, DFB also concedes
FIFA expects revenue from tickets and VIP cards to increase by 200 percent to around $3 billion at the 2026 World Cup, while the number of games will increase by 68 percent as a result of the new mode.
FIFA repeatedly emphasizes that most of the money ends up with the 211 national associations – including the DFB. She distributes the income as prize money depending on her performance at the World Cup and via her so-called “Forward Program”. In the current program from 2023 to 2026, the DFB has so far received $2.856 million, and the amount is expected to increase significantly with the World Cup. According to FIFA, the DFB received $6.0 million in the 2019 to 2022 program. The prize money scale has not yet been published.
| WM | Tickets | VIP |
|---|---|---|
2022 | 686 million | 243 million |
2018 | 541 million | 148 million |
2014 | 527 million | 184 million |
2010 | 300 million | 120 million |