FIFA Switches to Adaptive Pricing for Late World Cup Ticket Purchases by National Associations

Several national football associations have been hit with higher prices when purchasing additional World Cup tickets for players’ families and guests after Fifa shifted to adaptive pricing at the end of January. An executive at one national association requested hundreds of additional tickets in recent weeks and was surprised at the size of the bill.

An executive at another association said the average cost of securing attendance at matches for players’ family and guests has risen to about $3,000 (£2,200) a ticket after extra purchases.

Fifa sources stated that the average cost of tickets bought by national associations is far lower than $3,000. The Guardian reported that Fifa insists terms and conditions of sale were made clear at the outset. Many national associations have privately expressed surprise by the price increases, although Fifa sources insist associations that responded to deadlines on time should not have experienced price rises.

Fifa offered all qualified national associations a six-week window to buy tickets at a fixed price after the World Cup draw in December. The draw took place in Washington on 5 December. Requests for tickets from the end of January have been subject to Fifa’s adaptive pricing, with the cost rising for most matches.

Fifa put World Cup tickets on sale in four distinct phases: October, December, January and April, before announcing an additional last-minute sales window. A number of tickets were held over at December prices for the six countries that qualified via the confederation playoffs in March. All qualifiers have received a number of free tickets for their official delegations and guests.