It was not mathematically confirmed until the Latvia game a month later, but as I watched Ezri Konsa turn in the third goal away to Serbia in early September I smiled to myself in the Stadion Rajko Mitic, knowing England were going to the World Cup. But immediately, a key question surfaced: was I? The answer came on Thursday, with the announcement of the ticket prices that the most loyal supporters of international football would have to pay. And that answer, emphatically, was no, as it will be for countless supporters worldwide. If you had asked me as a hypothetical what seeing England in a World Cup final was worth, I might have said: “Priceless.” But $4,185 – £3,130 – just for the match ticket? No, no, no.
As a fan, I have been to 14 tournaments – nine European Championships and five World Cups – dating back to Euro 92. I have the money, or at least could get it by dipping into my pension pot, which I was braced to do for hotels and flights. But, in a sentiment being echoed across England, Scotland and all the other qualifying nations, I’m not spending a minimum of about £5,000 simply on match tickets, the price Fifa has put on watching your team from group stage through to the final (the exact total will vary, depending on where a country’s group matches are).
The prices announced on Thursday were for the supporters who have already trekked across their own continent, creating the atmosphere at and around national-team matches. This year I have been to Barcelona, Belgrade, Riga and Tirana, as well as going to Nottingham, Birmingham and Wembley multiple times. It’s to these supporters, in each country’s membership scheme, that the competing teams’ allocations of tickets go, 8% of the total in each ground. That 8% provides a much higher percentage of the atmosphere, not just at the finals but in the qualifying matches that give meaning to the jamboree.
Talk of paying upwards of £5,000 is not a case of England fans, or anyone else, being presumptuous about their side going all the way. It’s right that you have to pay the £500 or so for the guaranteed matches – the three group games – now if you want to go to them. But judging from some of the comments on social media, it may be less apparent that if you want to have a ticket from that 8% allocation, you have to pay the £4,500 for knockout games in advance too, however slim your team’s chance of progress may be. I would have to pay that five grand on my credit card in January, and if England faltered I might not get the refund until September; the terms and conditions give Fifa 60 calendar days to cough up once a team is eliminated – minus their $10 admin charge, naturally.
It would not only be me paying for my notional seat at the final. Fifa can sell that 8% of tickets many times over. It is unlikely many fans from Curaçao or Cape Verde will fork out for the full package, but goodness knows how many people from other countries also bought what would have been my seat at the 2018 final, for instance. The $10 refund fee is a minor insult compared with knowing Fifa makes a fortune from interest on those millions, while Visa, a Fifa sponsor, will also be quids in if people borrow money for their potential tickets on their credit cards.
The meaning of “upwards of £5,000” is also significant. The minimum is buying tickets in the lowest price band, category 3. But if I needed to buy category 2 tickets, I would be up to £8,600. Category 1? £12,400.
I boycotted Qatar 2022. I tried to boycott Russia 2018 and was astonished that I saw an actual World Cup semi-final and collected a belated refund on the final. That refund was $455, less than a ninth of what Fifa is asking for next year’s final. Also in 2018, in the bid book for the 2026 World Cup, the organisers suggested category 3 prices of $174 for group games and $695 for the final – expensive but conceivable – with a category 4 at $21 and $128.
The whole thing feels like a conspiracy to make Uefa look good; our category 3 tickets for the Euro 2024 final were €300 and, as with the other knockout rounds, you bought them after England qualified, rather than having to stump up in advance. The Euro 2028 organisers have made clear their tournament will be accessible, too. The fact that next tournament is at home softens the blows a bit, as that will be eminently affordable for the English and Scots. But there is a danger that a significant segment of fans in other countries will throw their hands up now: what is the point of trekking around the continent if your loyalty in qualifying is rewarded with an expensive kick in the teeth for tournaments?
The Football Association should be lobbying Fifa hard for a rethink and contacting other participating federations to do likewise – especially the Spanish and Portuguese, co-hosts with Morocco of the bulk of the 2030 World Cup. I don’t imagine for a second prices will change, but the FAs should make clear they stand against a repeat of this betrayal.
There is zero chance, under the current Fifa regime, of England hosting a World Cup, so as much as possible, the FA should withdraw cooperation from the governing body. However, it should extend an olive branch to the governing body’s president and invite him to be guest of honour at every England international. What would it be worth to see Gianni Infantino find out what the Wembley crowd think of him? Priceless.
