FIFA accused of 'monumental betrayal' over latest World Cup ticket prices

Football fans have accused FIFA of a "monumental betrayal" after the latest prices for World Cup tickets began to circulate on Thursday (Dec 11).

The governing body allocates 8 per cent of tickets to national associations for games involving their team to sell to the most loyal fans.

And a list published by the German football federation revealed prices ranged from US$180 to US$700 for varying group stage games. The lowest price for the final in New Jersey was US$4,185, and the highest was US$8,680.

Those group-stage prices are very different from FIFA’s claims of US$60 tickets being available, while the target from United States football officials when bidding for the tournament seven years ago was to offer hundreds of thousands of US$21 seats across the opening phase of games.

Fan organisation Football Supporters Europe (FSE) described the current prices as "extortionate".

"This is a monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup, ignoring the contribution of supporters to the spectacle it is," it said in a statement.

The English Football Association shared pricing information with the England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC) on Thursday evening, which showed that if a fan bought a ticket for every game through to the final, it would cost just over US$7,000.

FIFA said in September that tickets released through its website would initially range from US$60 for group-stage matches to US$6,730 for the final. But those prices are subject to change as it adopts dynamic pricing for the first time at the World Cup.

FIFA tickets are available in four categories, with the best seats in Category 1.

In the price list published by the German federation, there were only three categories.

The lowest-priced ticket was US$180 for Germany’s