Resale of tickets for the England-Mexico match at astronomical prices sparks widespread anger against FIFA sports

Tickets initially bought by England fans for Monday’s World Cup Round of 16 clash with Mexico have been put back on sale for thousands of pounds on FIFA’s official resale platform, sparking sharp criticism from fan links.

The FA confirmed that members of the England Supporters’ Travel Club initially obtained these tickets through a lottery held last December.

Tickets for the upcoming confrontation at the Azteca Stadium became available for resale on Wednesday, after England secured its qualification with a 2-1 victory over the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Condemning the resale of tickets for the England-Mexico match at astronomical prices

The Football Fans Association strongly condemned the mechanism for setting these prices. It said in an official statement: “FIFA deliberately designed an electronic exchange platform that allows tickets to be sold at massively inflated prices, with FIFA receiving 15 percent of the money of both the buyer and the seller.”

She added: “While we always criticize FIFA for financially exploiting fans at the current World Cup, we also cannot find an excuse for fans who choose to resell their tickets at inflated prices.”

FIFA had defended this system in a previous statement in which it said: “FIFA’s changing approach to ticket pricing is consistent with prevailing trends in various sports and entertainment sectors, where the price is adjusted to improve sales and attendance rates, ensuring the fair market value of events.”