FIFA’s shameful ticket pricing exposed by UEFA’s Euros commitment

Paul Macdonald

• 30 Mar 2026 10:01 CDT
• 2 min read

News

The cheapest tickets for Euro 2028 in the UK and Ireland are expected to be under £30, putting FIFA's price-gouging for the 2026 World Cup into sharp focus. 

Uefa has said it wants 40 per cent of Euro 2028 tickets to sit in its cheapest categories. At Euro 2024, those were €30 and €60, and the expectation is that prices will stay around that level.

Under current plans, about 15 per cent of tickets should cost £30 or less, with another 25 per cent at £60 or below.

Compare that with the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, where the pricing model has already annoyed plenty of supporters. FIFA’s final ticket window opens on Wednesday, but the mood around it is hardly welcoming. Dynamic pricing, resale mark-ups and general all-round expense have made it feel less like a celebration and more like a stress test.

FIFA's ability to take fans for a ride has become the stuff of ridicule in the build-up to this tournament, with huge markups for matches that aren't all that desirable to begin with, in this expanded tournament.

And then there’s the stuff around the venues themselves. Parking in Arlington, near Dallas, will cost $75 for a group-stage game. A return train from central Boston to Gillette Stadium is also expected to jump sharply for World Cup matches. Everyone is looking to secure their pound of flesh from an increasingly jaded travelling support. 

UEFA seem to be taking a different line and taking advantage of the animosity towards FIFA, by making this announcement now, more than two years out from the event. It is expected to add a premium tier to raise revenue, but the overall structure looks more restrained. Ticket sales for the three million seats will begin after the final draw in December 2027, and the governing body says it wants the process to be fair, transparent and fan-first.

Fans who win the ballot could, in theory, buy tickets for all seven matches, including the final included, for as little as £325.

FIFA’s approach has gone the other way. The cheapest World Cup final ticket is expected to be more than £3,000. Following a team through the full eight-match route could cost more than £5,000, unsustainable and impossible for most fans.

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