FIFA are KILLING football and obscene World Cup ticket prices are a final slap in face - The Mirror

Supporters have been asked to stump up a MINIMUM of £3,120 for a ticket for the World Cup final in New Jersey in an unrelenting show of greed by FIFA

It's perhaps one of the most overused phrases in football. But this time, the game has well and truly gone.

It's gone from me. A run-of-the-mill, match-going fan of club and country. Having navigated rising TV subscriptions, season ticket prices, pies, pints and everything else, I've finally been priced out.

The FA circulated the obscene costs for each of England's fixtures at next summer's showpiece across North America on Thursday and everybody's worst fears were realised.

While we were already aware of astronomical prices for those buying directly from FIFA in the run-up to the draw, there were hopes some cheaper tickets may be available for the individual federations to sell to their fans once fixtures had been confirmed.

Not only is that not the case, the prices have actually gone up.

For the final, tickets bought directly from FIFA were available at a mere $2,790, just over £2,000, for a category three ticket. That has risen to a frankly disgusting $4,185, around £3,120, for fans buying through their federations.

Again, this is the cheapest available ticket. If you want the best view and fancy a category one seat, that will be $8,680, or around £6,500.

Even worse, going back to the USA, Canada and Mexico's bid book document published by FIFA in 2018, a category three ticket for the final was projected to cost $695, around £520. In reality, that ticket will cost SIX TIMES what was suggested.

For context, a 'fans first' ticket for the Euro 2024 final between England and Spain cost €95, about £83, and were readily available for supporters who had put in the hard yards during qualifying.

UEFA also had the decency to allow fans to pay for the tickets as and when their country reached a particular stage of the tournament, unlike FIFA who want the money up front to be refunded at an unspecified later date, minus a fee, if your team do not make it as far as the fixture in question.

Add in flights, internal travel across an entire continent, accommodation costs and spending money, the 2026 World Cup is simply unviable for the vast majority of fans.

FIFA deserve swathes of empty seats. They will still sell plenty of tickets. The final will still have over 80,000 people in attendance. But, for the most part, they will not be football fans as we know them. And that is an absolute travesty.

And while it is FIFA who are the enemy here, the FA, and other federations around the world, need to speak out. It is unrealistic to think allocations will be rejected, but these prices need condemning and denouncing in solidarity with their members.

You only needed to watch the draw ceremony featuring Donald Trump's peace prize and the Village People to see just how removed from reality FIFA and Gianni Infantino are. They are killing the so-called beautiful game as we know it.

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