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European football supporters have dragged FIFA before the European Commission, accusing the organisation of imposing exorbitant ticket prices for the forthcoming World Cup and shutting out ordinary fans from the global spectacle.
The action, brought by Football Supporters Europe alongside Euroconsumers, contends that FIFA has wielded its monopoly over ticket sales in a manner that is both unfair and injurious to supporters, offering little transparency in pricing and conditions of purchase.
At the centre of the grievance is the sharp escalation in ticket costs. The cheapest seats for the final now command upwards of $4,185 a figure markedly higher than what obtained at the last tournament in Qatar and far removed from earlier projections.
By comparison, tickets for the UEFA Euro 2024 final were sold at far more modest rates, underscoring what supporters describe as a worrying departure from affordability in elite football competitions.
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FIFA, for its part, has attributed the surge to overwhelming demand, particularly across the host nations the United States, Canada and Mexico where interest in the expanded tournament has been considerable. Its president, Gianni Infantino, maintains that so-called “dynamic pricing” merely reflects prevailing market conditions.
However, critics argue that such a system, bereft of clear limits, has given rise to speculative excesses, particularly on resale platforms where ticket prices have soared to astonishing levels, placing the event well beyond the reach of the average supporter.
While FIFA has introduced a limited tranche of lower-priced tickets, these have proved scarce, doing little to allay the disquiet among fans. The matter now rests with European regulators, whose eventual ruling may well determine whether football’s governing body must temper its commercial impulses in favour of fairness and accessibility.
