Fifa backpedals. While many supporters around the world, including French ones, have been outraged in recent days at the insane prices offered by the body to attend the matches of the 2026 World Cup next summer in North America, the latter took a step towards the fans this Tuesday.
Indeed, the organization led by Gianni Infantino announced the creation of a new category of tickets reserved only for supporters of the 48 nations qualified for the World Cup. Entitled “Basic stand for supporters”, the latter will allow tickets to be purchased at “60 US dollars each and available for all 104 matches”, as specified by Fifa in a press release released in the evening.
The offer, available like the others via “a random selection procedure”, also includes the World Cup final, which will take place on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New York.
Tickets intended for “the most loyal supporters”
“This initiative aims to further support fans who follow their national team throughout the tournament,” added world football’s governing body. It should be noted that each federation will have to define itself the eligibility criteria for these affordable tickets. The management of requests and the distribution of the precious tickets will, however, be managed by the member association of supporters from the different Federations. In the case of the FFF, this task should fall to the Supporters Club.
In its press release, Fifa still invites the Federations to “ensure that these tickets are distributed to the most loyal and unconditional supporters of the selection”.
Fans still not satisfied
Last week, the opening of a new phase of ticketing provoked the anger of many fans across the globe, with the Football Supporters Europe (FSE) association expressing particular indignation at the “astronomical prices (…) imposed by Fifa on the most loyal supporters”, last Thursday.
The FSE then affirmed that following its team from the first match to the World Cup final “would cost at least $6,900 (around 6,000 euros)” to a supporter, “nearly five times more than during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar”.
This Tuesday evening, the association did not seem convinced by the body’s announcements. “While we welcome the fact that FIFA appears to recognize the damage its initial plans would have caused, the revisions do not go far enough to reconcile,” she wrote in a statement posted on her social networks, denouncing the fact that “only a few hundred fans” could benefit, “while the extreme majority will still have to pay exorbitant prices.” The FSE also condemns Fifa’s lack of consideration towards fans with disabilities.
