In 1978, two cash-strapped Scottish fans hitched a ride on a ship across the Atlantic to Argentina, painting it en route to pay for their passage, in the cheapest World Cup trip ever seen, depicted in a BBC documentary.
For decades, low-income fans have taken buses, trains or carpools to see their idols.
Thousands of people from all over South America found a way to make the 2014 World Cup in Brazil accessible by traveling and sleeping in RVs.
This year, rising ticket and accommodation prices have put the tournament more than ever in the hands of those with higher incomes.
“If you want to have fun you have to pay,” said Mike Gill, a Canadian-based British property developer who was supporting England against Ghana near Boston on Tuesday. “It’s absurd, but people are paying the prices, so what are you going to do?”
Greg Connor, owner of an auto repair shop in Oklahoma, said he spent US$9,600 (the equivalent of R$49,500) on four tickets for his family to watch the match between France and Norway this Friday (26).
“It’s crazy,” Connor said. “We were thinking about going to 5 or 6 games, but we’re only going to watch one.”
DYNAMIC PRICES, HIGH INCOME FANS
Official prices for group stage games this year were initially set at up to US$575 per ticket. At the 2022 World Cup, the most expensive ticket for group stage games was US$220 (about R$1,174 at the time).
But the dynamic pricing system adopted by FIFA, the tournament organizer, which allows prices to vary according to demand, increased resale tickets for the first phase to above US$1,000 (around R$5,200), with the subsequent phases even more expensive.
On Friday, the lowest average price for tickets for upcoming matches was US$1,600 (R$8,267) on secondary resale sites, according to Ticketdata, a price monitoring site.
Renato Perez, who lives in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, said he spent around US$22,000 (R$113,700) on tickets, travel, accommodation and other expenses for his family of five to watch Ecuador beat Germany in New Jersey on Thursday (25).
“But it’s worth every penny,” Perez said. “I would do it all again.”
The jump in prices is reshaping the profile of World Cup ticket holders.
Of more than 50 people who spoke to Reuters at various stadiums during the group stage, around 30 had better-paying jobs, with sales, finance and real estate appearing frequently. Another four were businesspeople, three were engineers and two were doctors, while, among professions typically less well paid, two were electricians and two were nurses.
For Americans accustomed to the impact of dynamic pricing on concerts and sporting events, the high costs are no surprise.
Colleen Cheesman, a partner at a consultancy firm who attended England’s game against Ghana, said she was prepared to pay up to US$3,000 for a ticket, but was offered US$420 per seat by friends who bought them in an advance sale through a FIFA draw.
“We got six and brought our friends,” she said. “They’re so cheap. You can’t even see a show for that price these days.”
For other fans present at the tournament, the cost was a sacrifice.
Caroline Dowie, an Australian who owns a property cleaning company in Adelaide, said she and her husband paid US$4,000 for four tickets, not counting travel and accommodation costs.
Some worry about the change in attendance, both at the World Cup and at domestic games, to the detriment of those who traditionally represented the fan base.
“The World Cups are disproportionate — the costs, everything,” said Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro. “The essence of football is lost. And football cannot be a business, it has to be football.”
A FIFA spokesman said the organization offered 130,000 tickets for matches across the tournament at US$60 each. The broader pricing strategy reflected market practices for major sporting and entertainment events in host countries, and the revenue generated will be reinvested in football development, the spokesperson said.
However, the low-cost offer — announced in December after protests against the pricing plans — is a fraction of the total of approximately 7 million World Cup tickets and is smaller than the 400,000 discounted tickets offered during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where students entered for just US$15 (about R$33.45 at the time).
Despite the increase in prices, demand is high. On Thursday, total ticket sales for the tournament reached a record 3.6 million.
TICKETS OF R$ 7.75 MILLION
For the richest, money really seems to be no problem.
Knightsbridge Circle, a luxury concierge company, offered a US$4 million (R$20.7 million) hospitality package including six front row midfield seats at the World Cup final and access to the pitch during the trophy ceremony. It was sold in less than 24 hours. Two other seats, with access to the edge of the field for the ceremony, are for sale for US$1.5 million (R$7.75 million) each.
Stefan Szymanski, a professor of sports management at the University of Michigan, said the rise in tournament ticket prices reflects the sport’s unparalleled appeal in much of the world and its growth in newer markets such as the United States.
“Although this was already the most popular sport in the world 30-40 years ago, that popularity has actually grown even more, and particularly among affluent people,” Szymanski said.
“We’re going to watch this, we’re going to be glued to this and people are going to pay huge prices to go to the games,” he said. “And then when it’s over, Americans will immediately forget and turn to the NFL and all the other things, with the World Series coming up.”
