England fans are likely to find it challenging to secure tickets for their team’s World Cup opener against Croatia next year, as only slightly more than 4,000 seats have been allocated for English supporters.
The Three Lions are set to launch their World Cup campaign on June 17 at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, which boasts a seating capacity of 70,122 for the tournament.
Despite the stadium’s large capacity, both England and Croatia have been allocated a limited number of tickets specifically for their fans.
This allocation includes tickets reserved internally by the respective football associations, which FIFA does not designate for sale to supporters clubs or the general public.
It has been confirmed that England and Croatia will each receive 4,022 tickets for their Group L opening match.
England fans face a battle to secure tickets for their World Cup opener against Croatia
England have been allocated 4,022 ring-fenced tickets for the match at the AT&T Stadium
Among these allocations, there will be 1,006 category 1 ‘supporter premium’ tickets available at a price of £523 and an equal number of category 2 ‘supporter standard’ tickets, each priced at £373.
The remainder will be 2,010 category 3 “supporter value” tickets priced at £198.
Information is still to follow on wheelchair and easy access/accessible allocations and prices for the match.
Tickets ring fenced for participating countries went on sale from December 11 until January 13, which includes group matches and the knock-out stage through to the final.
England fans could struggle to land designated tickets for the second group match against Ghana, with only 3,887 up for grabs at the 63,815-capacity Gillette Stadium in Boston.
The final group match at the 78,576-capacity MetLife Stadium in New York has seen England allocated 4,826 tickets for the tie against Panama.
A quirk of the eight per cent capacity rule means that Curacao, which has a population of around 150,000, will be allocated more tickets for their World Cup opener.
Curacao, the smallest nation to feature at the World Cup, will make their debut against Germany in Houston and will receive 4,307 tickets for their opening match.
| Converted Ticket Prices (USD – GBP) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match / Stage | Venue | Category 1 | Category 2 | Category 3 |
| Match 22: England v Croatia | Dallas | £523 | £373 | £198 |
| Match 45: England v Ghana | Boston | £448 | £321 | £164 |
| Match 67: England v Panama | New York / New Jersey | £463 | £347 | £164 |
| Round of 32 | TBC | £456 | £366 | £176 |
| Round of 16 | TBC | £575 | £453 | £220 |
| Quarter Final | TBC | £1,076 | £757 | £506 |
| Semi Final | Atlanta or Dallas | £2,368 | £1,823 | £688 |
| (3PO) Bronze Final | Miami | £840 | £646 | £340 |
| Final | New York / New Jersey | £6,492 | £4,169 | £3,129 |
Along with the designated tickets for supporters, fans will be able to make requests in FIFA’s latest sales phase.
The governing body said last week that over five million requests have been made following the World Cup draw earlier this month, with being Colombia, England, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Scotland, Germany, Australia, France and Panama the top 10 nations in making requests.
These tickets will be allocated as part of a random selection draw phase, which will close on January 13.
Daily Mail Sport reported last week that the Football Association will share fans’ concerns with FIFA over outrageous ticket prices for the World Cup.
It emerged that the cheapest seats at the final will cost £3,129 – and should England progress to that fixture Three Lions’ fans will have to pay more than £5,000 on tickets alone.
The cheapest tickets for England fans travelling to the tournament are more than ten times the price promised in the original bid for USA, Canada and Mexico to host the tournament.
FIFA announced that the cheapest tickets available to members of England’s official fan group for group matches would be £165, — while the document’s model said that the cheapest seats should be £15.70.
Elsewhere on the bid document, which remains on FIFA’s website, the lowest price for the final was to be £95 – and not the £3,129 being offered to fans of competing nations, which is more than 30 times higher.
