Scotland fans criticise 'ridiculous' Fifa World Cup ticket prices

Scotland fans and politicians have criticised Fifa over its "outrageous" ticket prices for next summer's World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.

The men's national team will face Haiti and Morocco in Boston before taking on Brazil in Miami when they return to the tournament for the first time in 28 years.

After the ticket application window opened on Thursday, it emerged prices for the group games will range from £134 to £523.

The Scottish Football Association (SFA) - which brokered a deal to secure priority tickets for Scotland Supporters' Club (SSC) members - said pricing was a matter for Fifa.

BBC Scotland has asked football's world governing body for comment.

Fans' group Football Supporters Europe have condemned the "extortionate" pricing strategy as have supporters' groups on both sides of the Scotland-England border.

Politicians also united on the BBC's Question Time to voice their concerns.

Steve Clarke's Scotland side qualified for the finals last month after a thrilling 4-2 Hampden victory over Denmark.

Following the draw in Washington DC, Scotland have been allocated 3,889 tickets for the Haiti match on 13 June and the same number for the Morocco game on 19 June.

Both fixtures will be played in the 63,815 capacity Boston Stadium.

For the match against Haiti, the prices will be £134, £298 or £372, while for the Morocco games tickets will cost £163, £320 or £447.

For the clash with five-time champions Brazil on 24 June Scotland have been granted 3,736 tickets.

It will be played in the Miami stadium which has a capacity of 64,091.

Tickets for that match will cost £198, £373 or £523.

Scotland fan Karen Gall criticised the ticket allocation and the fact group stage games are priced based on the perceived popularity of the teams involved, rather than at a flat rate.

She told the BBC's Radio Scotland Breakfast programme: "They are just making it unaffordable for fans essentially."

Karen, who lives in Glasgow, has decided not to enter the ballot.

She said: "There is no point. We can't realistically afford it.

"We have thought about going. We do have friends in Boston we could potentially stay with.

"We could go and soak up the atmosphere but, by the same token, we could just stay here and have a great party at home."

Daris Nesbitt will be in the US for the tournament after booking a £300 flight from Barcelona to Boston before last Friday's draw.

He has enough SSC loyalty points to guarantee the cheapest category 3 tickets for the group stages.

Daris, of Bishopton, Renfrewshire, also saved money by pre-booking 22 hotels in advance but he still faces a expensive trip.

The IT analyst said: "I would say so far, totalling up, it has cost me about £4,000 - and that's before I even get a beer."

Daris told the programme some members of the Tartan Army might travel to the US just to follow the action in a fan zone.

He said: "The ticket pricing is absolutely ridiculous.

"I know there's people on third party websites paying £1,000 for games."

Supporters have also voiced their concerns on social media.

Writing on X, Stephen Watson said: "I've followed Scotland home and away for 27 years in the SSC. Have a decent enough regular income; and I'm sitting here contemplating if I can afford/justify paying for a R32 ticket at the World Cup having already decided just to take in 2 group games.

"It shouldn't be like this."

The Scottish Football Supporters' Association (SFSA) said national football associations across the globe should "hold Fifa to account for the excessive ticket prices".

SPSA chief executive John MacLean also criticised the "poor level" of ticket allocations and what he described as the "unacceptable" dynamic pricing model.

Mr McLean said: "The SFA president Mike Mulraney, who has recently been appointed chair of The Fifa Finance Committee, is ideally placed to express the widespread disappointment of Scottish fans and indeed fans all around the world at ticket prices that are, in some cases, five times the cost in Qatar.

"We hope the opportunity is not lost to represent the views of ordinary football supporters."

Meanwhile, the Football Supporters' Association's England Fans' Embassy said the ticket prices were a "slap in the face" for supporters.

The issue even made it on to the BBC's Question Time programme on Thursday.

A member of the audience in Paisley asked: "Are Scotland fans being priced out of the World Cup by the greed of Fifa?"

The SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, who is a member of the Tartan Army, branded the ticketing arrangements "a complete scam".

The Aberdeen South MP also highlighted the fact supporters need to buy tickets in advance for the knock-out stages.

He said: "Fifa take your money, stick it in their back pocket for a game you might never go to and then give it back to you less an administration fee.

"That's the worst bank you have ever heard of."

Flynn told the programme that supporters were being "fleeced" and called on football bodies to get together and "demand an end to this".

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the pricing structure was "utterly shameful".

He added: "We all have to gang up with confederations and nations across the globe and say to Fifa: 'Not a chance'."

Scottish Conservatives leader Russell Findlay, who travelled to France for Scotland's last World Cup appearance in 1998, said: "The ticket prices are completely outrageous."

He added: "Without fans at football it is sterile, it is dead, it is not worth it.

"We need to get this fixed."

Findlay added that the Scottish government could help supporters at home by ensuring pubs are open "in the wee small hours" for Scotland's matches which kick off at 02:00 and 23:00.

Former Conservative business and Scotland Office minister, Lord Malcolm Offord, who last week defected to Reform UK, plans to attend the Brazil match.

He told the programme: "It is a commercial venture. You are not going to get Fifa to change their mind."

But Lord Offord agreed with fellow panellist, journalist Angela Haggerty.

He added: "The best parties will actually be at home."

The 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams and be played from 11 June to 19 July in 16 cities across the US, Canada and Mexico.

The Fifa ticket application window runs until 13 January and fans will be charged for successful ticket applications in February.

On Monday, SSC members will be sent an access code to apply for Scotland's three group stage matches and potential knock-out matches.

For each match that is oversubscribed, a ballot using a loyalty points system will be used to determine who is successful in receiving their chosen category ticket.

An SFA spokesman said: "The ticket pricing policy for the World Cup is a matter for FIFA as the tournament organisers.

"Nonetheless, we made the strongest possible representation that those members with the highest points from our Scotland Supporters' Club loyalty scheme should be given first access to the official ticket allocation.

"We are glad that this has been achieved and are preparing for the Participating Member Association sales window opening next week."