FIFA announced Tuesday that the football governing body is releasing more World Cup tickets for all 104 matches across Categories 1, 2, and 3. The expansion includes the newly introduced "front category" pricing, which has already drawn criticism from supporters.
According to aljazeera.com, the new pricing tier has caused online complaints. Some fans expressed frustration, claiming they believed better seats in previously purchased categories were being withheld and that they had been assigned less favorable locations.
Prices for the tournament have seen significant increases since the initial sale. In December, tickets ranged from $140 for Category 3 in the first round to $8,680 for the final. Following a reopening of sales on April 1, prices climbed as high as $10,990.
Slow sales in California
While FIFA expands availability, reports suggest some matches are struggling to find buyers. The Athletic reported Tuesday that ticket sales are lagging for the US versus Paraguay opener scheduled for June 12 at Inglewood, California.
A document distributed to local organizers, dated April 10, shows that 40,934 tickets had been purchased for the US-Paraguay match. For the Iran-New Zealand contest on April 15, sales stood at 50,661.
FIFA projects a capacity of approximately 69,650 for the Los Angeles SoFi Stadium, though the organization noted this figure may change.
Earlier sales figures for the California matches show a wide price gap between fixtures. The December sale priced US-Paraguay tickets at $1,120, $1,940, and $2,735, while seats for Iran-New Zealand were priced much lower at $140, $380, and $450.
