Football fan groups across Europe have accused FIFA of ‘hammering’ supporters by hiking ticket prices in the ‘most expensive World Cup’ ever.
The world football governing body today released ticket information for the tournament in Qatar, which begins on November 21.
The cost of attending the World Cup final is up to 46 per cent higher in Qatar than the previous tournament in Russia.
The most expensive tickets on general sale for the December 18 final at Lusail Stadium are 5,850 Qatari riyals (£1,179), up 46% from the £807 for the 2018 final won by France.
FIFA has released ticket information for the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, beginning November 21
And supporters hoping to follow their team throughout the finals in the Middle East, will also face increased costs after FIFA cut the number of tickets available in cheaper categories throughout the tournament.
The announcement drew an immediate and dismayed response from Football Supporters Europe, an umbrella group for fans across Europe.
The FSE described the 2022 World Cup as ‘the most expensive World Cup ever’, adding that ‘it also appears that it has drastically reduced the number of affordable tickets’.
The tickets are divided into four categories. The fourth category is the cheapest and only available to Qatari residents. There will be an £8 ticket for group matches for locals, which is the daily wage for a migrant worker who helped build the stadiums and infrastructure for the controversial event.
Fan groups in Europe have accused FIFA of making this the most expensive World Cup ever
The cheapest tickets for foreign visitors are in category three.
‘Ahead of a World Cup which will most likely outprice the majority of usual match-going fans, it’s astonishing to see FIFA deciding to hammer them,’ said Ronan Evain, the chief executive of the FSE.
While there is a reduction in the cost of the cheapest tickets, which fans can apply for online, for the group stage (apart from the opening game) and round of 16 , there are fewer cheap seats available.
FSE chief executive Ronan Evain has questioned ticket prices
To make the point, the FSE compared one stadium from the event in Russia in 2018 with another of a similar capacity in Qatar in 2022.
The Kazan Arena with a capacity of 45,000 in Russia offered 23 per cent of tickets at category three and four. In comparison, the 974 Stadium in Qatar with a capacity of 40,000 had just 9.6 per cent of tickets at those prices.
Matt Willis, the international fans project manager at the FSE, said it was feasible for a supporter to follow their team to the final in Russia, which would include seven matches, but that will be harder in Qatar.
‘There will be a major increase in the cost,’ he told Sportsmail, highlighting the cost of almost £2,900 to buy seven sets of category one tickets.
The price of the cheapest tickets with be £8, about the same as a migrant worker is paid per day in Qatar for building the stadiums and infrastructure to stage the competition
FIFA’s publicity for the tournament has highlighted the small size of Qatar, it is equivalent to the county of Yorkshire, which will allow supporters to watch more than one game a day.
But Willis added: ‘The increase in ticket price will discourage people from doing that.’
Supporters requesting to attend matches at the Middle East’s first World Cup will only discover if they are successful based on a random draw at the conclusion of the first application phase which runs through Feb. 8.
The ticket process is beginning with only 13 of the 32 slots at the tournament filled and qualifying not concluding until the intercontinental playoffs in June. Applications in the first phase of ticket sales can be made on the FIFA website until Feb. 8 with fans notified if they have been successful in the random draw selection by March 8.
The draw for the tournament is scheduled for April 1 in Doha, the capital of the tiny oil-and-gas rich Persian Gulf nation.
As well as applying for tickets for individual games, fans can register to follow their team throughout and to watch four matches in four different stadiums.
FIFA aims to generate $500 million from hospitality rights and ticket sales from across the eight stadiums in Qatar which are within a 30-mile radius of Doha.
The launch of ticket sales will be the first gauge of interest in attending arguably the most controversial tournament since the World Cup was first staged in 1930.
Some fans could still be deterred from flying to the World Cup after a decade of criticism of Qatar’s treatment of the migrant workers, who are largely from southwest Asia and have been relied on to build up the infrastructure since winning the FIFA hosting rights in 2010.
Even if fans want to go, there is a shortage of accommodation with no hotels available to book yet having all been reserved by organizers.
Some fans could still be deterred from flying to the World Cup after a decade of criticism of Qatar’s treatment of the migrant workers, who are largely from southwest Asia