Football Australia has been handed a limited allocation of $90 tickets for the Socceroos' World Cup group matches after Fifa reversed its ticketing policy following a global backlash. The governing body will receive approximately 500 discounted seats per game, with the exact number depending on stadium capacity.
The cheaper tickets, designated "Supporter Entry Tier", represent 10 per cent of the federation's allocation, which itself is set at 8 per cent of stadium capacity for each participating nation. For Australia's group fixtures in Vancouver, Seattle and Santa Clara, that translates to 432, 552 and 568 discounted tickets respectively, for matches against the Uefa playoff winner, the United States and Paraguay.
Patrick Clancy, chair of the Football Supporters Association Australia, welcomed the change but said significant uncertainty remained over how fans could access the tickets. "There's still a lot of uncertainty about how fans can access these tickets," he said. "If Australian fans have already entered the ballot and put in applications, will they still be able to access these tickets?" Clancy added that Fifa had been "caught on the run" and needed to listen to supporters.
The climbdown follows intense criticism of Fifa's initial ticketing model, which allocated no lowest-priced tickets to participating teams. Fans reacted with shock and anger last week, while the co-hosts had pledged eight years ago that hundreds of thousands of tickets would be available for $32. Fifa has also faced scrutiny over dynamic pricing and its role as a resale platform.
Socceroos fans can apply for the discounted tickets through the "FA+" programme, a $99 paid membership, but there is no guarantee of success, as the process is not first come, first served. Those who have already purchased tickets at higher prices are left in limbo, with Clancy noting that "there's hope that perhaps people can alter their applications, but there's a lot of uncertainty about what exactly happens from now."
