Small Number of World Cup Tickets Excluded From Dynamic Pricing

FIFA is backing down from using dynamic pricing models for all of its World Cup tickets after uproar from fans and supporters groups over high costs.

Most tickets will remain subject to dynamic pricing, but a small amount of more affordable tickets will now have fixed prices.

As ticket prices for matches have continued rising, FIFA has said it will refrain from using the model that fluctuates costs based on demand for a small number of tickets. It’s unclear exactly how many tickets will stay at a fixed rate, but FIFA has indicated a portion of tickets set aside for supporter groups will stay constant.

“FIFA can confirm ringfenced allocations are being set aside for specific fan categories, as has been the case at previous FIFA World Cups,” the global governing body said in a statement. These categories include seats for fans in Participating Member Associations, or PMAs, which FIFA said will get 8% of tickets for each of their country’s matches. “These allocations will be set at a fixed price for the duration of the next ticket sales phase,” FIFA said.

FIFA is not pricing all matches the same, and the get-in cost has varied for group stage matches. In the presale windows, many group stage matches cost $60 for the cheapest ticket, while a seat at the U.S. opener started at $560.

The vast majority of tickets will remain on the dynamic pricing model, which FIFA said “reflects the existing market practice for major entertainment and sporting events within our hosts on a daily basis, soccer included.”

FIFA also tried to implement dynamic pricing for the Club World Cup this summer, but it had the opposite effect, plunging prices amid low demand. While common in the U.S., the strategy isn’t widespread in international soccer; last month, England’s Football Association announced it won’t use dynamic pricing when it hosts UEFA’s European Championship in 2028.

The governing body has also come under scrutiny for its control over the official resale market, which allows FIFA to bypass independent ticketing platforms so it can keep more of the profits, set at 30% of every sale. FIFA is taking advantage of laws in the U.S. and Canada that allow it to resell its own tickets at a higher value than their original prices. (Mexican law dictates that FIFA has to keep prices at face value through a ticket exchange, rather than a resale platform.)

The cheapest ticket for the final in New Jersey, for example, has ballooned to $8,000 on FIFA’s resale site.

The fan group Football Supporters Europe and the consumer group Euroconsumers have protested the governing body’s resale market, publishing in a joint letter: “The fact that scalping is legal doesn’t mean Fifa must become the scalper.” FIFA has defended the method by saying its fees “are aligned with North American industry trends.”

All of this is happening while fans still don’t know exactly which teams will play in which games, and where. Friday’s draw—controversially taking place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.—will shed some light, as will a release of venue and match times on Saturday. Fans can buy based on this information in another window opening next week. The demand for tickets has vastly outpaced how many FIFA has made available during the presale windows, while prices skyrocketed.