Tickets for this Sunday’s World Cup last-16 showdown between England and Mexico are appearing on FIFA’s official resale platform at prices reaching thousands of pounds, and fan organizations are furious about it.
England’s Football Association confirmed that the tickets were originally obtained by members of the England Supporters’ Travel Club through a ballot process held in December. The Azteca Stadium match tickets became available for resale on Wednesday, following England’s qualification from the group stage with a 2-1 win over DR Congo.
The Football Supporters’ Association came out strongly against the pricing practices on display.
“FIFA has deliberately designed an online exchange which allows tickets to be sold at vastly inflated prices with world football’s governing body grabbing 15% of the money from both the buyer and the seller,” the FSA said in a statement to the BBC. “While we have always called out FIFA for ripping off fans at this World Cup, we can’t excuse supporters who choose to tout their own tickets at ridiculous prices either.”
FIFA, for its part, had already offered a defense of how its ticketing system works. “FIFA’s variable pricing ticketing approach aligns with industry trends across various sports and entertainment sectors where the price is adapted to optimise sales and attendance, ensuring fair market value for events,” the organization stated.
