FIFA Slashes World Cup Prices After Backlash

FIFA slashed the price of some World Cup tickets for teams' most loyal fans following a global backlash and some will get $60 seats for the final instead of being asked to pay $4,185. It was a rare climbdown by the soccer body and its president Gianni Infantino after soaking up waves of criticism for World Cup strategies, including top-dollar prices and closer political alignment with President Trump, the AP reports.

• FIFA said Tuesday that $60 tickets will be made available for every game at the tournament in North America, going to the national federations whose teams are playing. Those federations decide how to distribute them to loyal fans who have attended previous games at home and on the road.

• The number of $60 tickets for each game is likely to be from 400 to 750 per team, in what FIFA is now calling a "Supporter Entry Tier" price category. FIFA is using 16 host cities, including 11 NFL stadiums in the United States, plus two in Canada and three in Mexico.
• FIFA did not specify exactly why it so dramatically changed strategy, but said the lower prices are "designed to further support traveling fans following their national teams across the tournament." However, the Football Supporters Europe group, which represents grassroots fan groups, said the limited price cut was "an appeasement tactic due to the global negative backlash." "This shows that FIFA's ticketing policy is not set in stone, was decided in a rush, and without proper consultation," the group said in a statement.

• The FSE group said that even with Tuesday's announcement, "the vast majority would still have to pay extortionate prices, way higher than at any tournament before."
• Fans worldwide reacted with shock and anger last week on seeing FIFA's ticketing plans that gave participating teams no tickets in the lowest-priced category. Their standard allocation is 8% of stadium capacity per team.
• The cheapest prices ranged from $140 to $265 for group-stage games that did not involve co-hosts the United States, Canada and Mexico. The $265 games involve Lionel Messi's Argentina, Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo and well-supported teams like Brazil and England. FIFA had set those prices despite the co-hosts having pledged eight years ago—when they were bidding for the tournament—that hundreds of thousands of $21 tickets would be made available for games before the knockout rounds.
• Criticism from fans, especially in Europe, had been increasing for several months over plans for "dynamic pricing" plus extra fees on a FIFA-run resale platform—both features which are common in the US entertainment industry but not to soccer fans worldwide. Anger intensified last week when it became clear loyal supporters would have no access to the cheapest category tickets and that fans who wanted to reserve a team-specific ticket for all of their team's potential games—through the final—would not get refunded until after the tournament if their team was eliminated.