UEFA is planning to freeze most of the ticket prices for the 2028 men’s European Championship, in stark contrast to FIFA’s policy for this summer’s World Cup.
FIFA’s World Cup ticket prices were the subject of a complaint at the European Commission last week.
UEFA’s Pricing Strategy for Euro 2028
UEFA is planning to freeze most of its prices for the Euro 2028 in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland at the same rates it charged for Euro 2024. This means its cheapest category, what it calls its “Fans First” ticket, will be approximately £26.
The next highest ticket, category three, will be in the region of £52. The prices will broadly correspond with the €30/€60 figures used in Germany.
English Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said “approximately half” of the three million tickets available will be in these two categories at the tournament’s official launch last November. A UEFA press release in December put the figure at “more than 40 per cent”.
This means there will be at least 1.2 million tickets available at Euro 2028 at a similar price, or cheaper, to the tiny number of tickets FIFA made available in category four at this summer’s tournament.
A fan hoping to go to Euro 2028 will have a chance of buying tickets for five group-stage games for the same price as the average cost of a parking space at a stadium at this summer’s World Cup, which is currently £132.
FIFA’s World Cup Ticket Controversy
FIFA is selling the 6.7 million tickets it has available for the 104-game tournament in four price categories, with the cheapest category-four ticket starting at £45 for a group-stage game. The most expensive – a category-one ticket for a high-profile group-stage match — costs as much as £2,050.
The cheapest face-value ticket for the final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19 costs more than £1,500, with the most expensive at almost £6,000.
These eye-watering prices, plus the small number of tickets available in the cheapest category, FIFA’s decision to use a dynamic pricing model and the commission fees it is charging on the official resale site, have all been heavily criticised by fans’ groups around the world.
Last week, Football Supporters Europe teamed up with a consumer rights group to make a formal complaint against FIFA at the European Commission.
Premium Ticket Options
The final price list for Euro 2028 is not expected to be confirmed until 2027 but UEFA has indicated that it will raise prices for the poshest seats and hospitality packages. One idea is to create a new “1+” category for high rollers, an approach FIFA appears to have taken for all categories.
According to Lindsay Owens, executive director at Washington D.C.-based think tank Groundwork Collaborati: “FIFA has embraced a familiar opportunity: permission to price-gouge.”