Long gone are the days of football being considered a working-class sport and, sadly, that has never been more apparent.
The cheapest tickets for England’s opener against Croatia come in at a whopping £197 ($265), while fans opting for the ‘supporter premium’ category will pay £521 ($700).
If the Three Lions make it to the quarter-finals, those wishing to attend will have to pay either £507 ($680), £756 ($1,015) or £1,073 ($1,440) for category one, two or three seats.
The minimum ticket price for the semi-finals is a staggering £686 ($920) with the maximum over triple that at £2,364 ($3,170). Meanwhile, if England make it all the way to the final, tickets will be on the market for as much as £6,475 ($8,680).
That doesn’t even take into consideration the eye-watering cost of flights, overpriced hotels and essential expenses like food, drink and transport.
The outrageous prices just go to show how little FIFA actually care about supporters, the lifeblood of the game. It should be remembered that without them, the powers that be would be feeding off scraps rather than rolling in riches.
FIFA would obviously prefer the stands to be filled by indifferent Americans with more money than sense, as opposed to true fans who would create the raucous atmosphere that World Cup games deserve.
Expect matches to be played in front of soulless crowds, given that the vast majority of people removed from the very rich will be priced out of attending.
It’s a damning indictment of the current state of the game and FIFA should be ashamed of themselves. Clearly in their eyes, supporters are little more than cash cows to be milked completely dry.
Genuine fans have been reduced to an afterthought. Only those willing to fork out a fortune for a ticket and spend even more money on overpriced beers, tacky merchandise and hot dogs lathered in that ghastly American mustard are given the time of day.
They say money makes the world go around and in FIFA’s case, that is particularly apparent. Gone are the days when football was for the fans. Now, it’s just a money-making exercise to benefit faceless suits who don’t truly understand what makes the game special.
My advice if you’re thinking about going to the World Cup? Don’t. Your money would be better spent elsewhere.
Not only is it mostly being held in the world’s biggest laughing stock of a country, but you’ll have to remortgage your house just to get into a stadium.
By staying at home and watching on TV, you’ll have the last laugh. There’ll probably be more atmosphere in your living room, too.
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