UEFA vs FIFA: Ticket warfare escalates as EURO 2028 details revealed

Tom Weber

• 13 Feb 2026 17:01 CST
• 6 min read

News

UEFA has doubled down on its open criticism of FIFA's 2026 World Cup ticketing practices.

The upcoming event in the USA, Canada and Mexico has mostly made negative headlines so far. Fans and officials from around the world have various grievances with FIFA's recent actions.

The expansion to 48 teams was an early point of contention, but it has since been vastly overshadowed by the controversies surrounding FIFA boss Gianni Infantino and his relationship with US president Donald Trump.

Another issue that has tempers flaring is ticketing. FIFA's handling of the matter could hardly have been worse. The first batches of tickets were made available only via lottery, with just a minuscule number sold in the cheapest pricing category of $60.

Indeed, the topic of pricing continues to spark debates. Tickets acquired via official FIFA channels cost hundreds and thousands of dollars, while those found on resale sites are even more expensive.

UEFA vs FIFA

With hotel prices also skyrocketing, many supporters feel priced out of football's greatest spectacle. The outrage surrounding ticket prices reached such an extent that FIFA felt compelled to respond in mid-December.

The governing body announced a new $60 Supporter Entry Tier for fans of qualified nations, but it was hidden in the small print that only 10% of the allocated tickets will fall under this category, amounting to roughly 1,000 tickets per game or 1.6% of the available inventory.

Although FIFA insists that it has received an unprecedented number of ticket requests, the prices appear to have had a noticeable effect on the hype surrounding the tournament.

Sounder at Heart journalist Jeremiah Oshan this week described the mood in Seattle as "surreal" on the Soccerwise podcast because there is virtually no excitement for the World Cup. He believes that most local fans simply can't afford to go to the games.

And this is not some footballing backwater, it is a city with a significant appetite for soccer. The Seattle Sounders drew the second-largest average attendance in Major League Soccer last year with 30,993.

The fact of the matter, though, is that it would be cheaper for Seattleites to drive north of the border to watch World Cup games at Vancouver's BC Place than at their local Lumen Field.

With FIFA's ticketing lottery having now closed and its open-market phase not yet started, supporters looking to buy entry to games right now have to resort to scouring the resale and exchange markets.

Here, tickets are currently listed at many times their face value, and FIFA's official resale market will actually be closed from 22 February to 2 April. Shortly before the tournament starts, the remaining inventory will be sold in the open-market phase on a first-come, first-served basis.

This negative publicity for FIFA has not gone unnoticed at UEFA, which is trying to exploit the controversy to present itself as the protector of football fans ahead of Euro 2028 in the UK and Ireland.

In December, UEFA announced its "fair and transparent ticketing principles" for the next European Championship, in what was a clear response to FIFA. All the points listed were essentially the opposite of what FIFA are doing for this year's World Cup.

UEFA has now doubled down on its approach and published a fresh infographic with details on how ticketing will work at Euro 2028. Out of the three million tickets that will be sold, 40% will be made available in the cheapest pricing categories.

The prices of these categories are not yet known and will only be announced in late 2027, but there will be no dynamic pricing, and even the tickets on the resale market will have to be sold at face value.

80% of the three million tickets will be reserved for supporters and the general public. Qualified nations will be allocated 10,000 tickets per group stage match. Ticket sales will only begin after the groups are drawn in December 2027.

Disabled supporters will be able to purchase tickets in the cheapest category and have the opportunity to request a complimentary companion ticket. The full list of UEFA's "key principles" is as follows:

- Fans First: More than 40% of tickets will be offered in the most affordable categories.

- No dynamic pricing across the tournament and equal pricing for regular group stage matches, giving fans a consistent and fair ticketing experience.

- Accessibility: Disabled fans will be able to purchase tickets at the same price as the most affordable category and may request a complimentary ticket for a companion.

- Fair distribution: Over 80% of all tickets will be available to fans of the participating teams and the general public.

- Official resale platform: Tickets can be resold at face value only, ensuring fairness for all with no fees charged to the seller. Resale outside the official resale platform will not be authorised, ensuring fairness for all.

- Fair allocation via ballot: For the start of general public sales, fans will have time to apply through a ballot system, avoiding queues and pressure, ensuring the fairest ticket allocation principle.

- Close collaboration with participating national associations will ensure that loyal supporters of each qualified team have access to 10,000 tickets reserved for every group stage match.

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