FIFA Sets Ticket Prices for 2014 World Cup in Brazil | ||
FIFA Sets Ticket Prices for 2014 World Cup in Brazil Global Sale Begins August 20, 2013 Fans will pay a standard $90 for tickets to see World Cup matches in Brazil next year, $10 more than in 2010 in South Africa. Announcing ticket rates, FIFA said $15 seats will be available to Brazilian students, people over 60 and mem¬bers of social programs. In 2010, South African residents could pay $20. Host nation residents will have access to at least 400,000 discounted tickets from the publicly available total of about 3 million. However, international fans must pay from $440 to $990, in three category bands, to see the July 13 final at the Ma-racana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. FIFA said prices start at $220 for the opening match in Sao Paulo on June 12. Top category seats will cost $495. At the other 47 group-stage matches, seats costs $90 in the cheapest Category 3 band. Category 1 tickets will cost $175. International Fans to Pay More Prices for international fans are about 10 per cent more than four years ago in South Africa, meaning these fans may be picking up the bill for discounts to Brazilians. The concessions to Brazilians were stipulated in a so-called World Cup bill approved last year by the Brazilian Congress. Portions of the bill - parts that grant FIFA cer¬tain tax concessions - have been called unconstitutional and are being appealed to the country's supreme court. "The ticketing strategy shows important achievements that Brazil has obtained, which were included in the World Cup law," Deputy Sports Minister Luis Fernandes said at the ticket announcement. Despite the discounts, the prices are out of reach for most people in Brazil, where the average official minimum monthly salary is about $340. At Rio recently renovated Maracana stadium, the price of the least expensive seats have increased 30 times in eight years. Brazil will spend about $14 billion on next year's World Cup. The price tag was a focus of violent street protests that took place during the Confederation Cup last month, the warm-up for the World Cup. FIFA Wants Stadiums Ready on Time FIFA marketing director Thierry Weil called on Brazilian authorities to have all 12 World Cup stadiums ready by a Dec. 31 deadline set by FIFA. Four of the six stadiums used for the Confederations Cup were late being delivered, caus-ing ticketing confusion with some fans entering with tickets - only to find no corresponding seats, Weil said. "We need the stadiums in time for the World Cup to be ready and to be prepared," he said. He also said ticket pick-up locations had to be better situ-ated, adding that tickets would be available at the airports in all 12 host cities. Air travel will be the main way to get around the conti¬nent-size country. "For the World Cup, what we need to do is, we need to have ticket centers in the right locations," Weil said. Tickets for the World Cup will be sold globally from Aug. 20 on fifa.com. The first sales phase ends Oct. 10, and a random draw will allocate seats for oversubscribed matches. A second sales phase opens Dec. 8, after the 32-team draw is made and the match schedule confirmed. FIFA said buyers can request a maximum of four seats per match, and for a maximum of seven matches. FIFA said an additional 450,000 tickets have been re-served for a corporate client program, which FIFA licensed to MATCH Hospitality for $120 million. The total number of available tickets will not be finalized until the 12 stadiums are completed, FIFA said. World Cup Final Ticket Tickets for next year's World Cup in Brazil are supposed to be among the cheapest they've ever been, according to FIFA, soccer's governing body. Though prices can get pretty high, local residents will be able to purchase tickets to most games for as low as 60 reals ($27). But affordability isn't just a function of price; it also de-pends on how much money you have. And adjusting for av-erage wage in the host country, tickets to this year's World Cup are arguably among the most expensive in recent times. A cursory look at the cheapest ticket to the World Cup championship match in Brazil (330 reals, or $147) and the previous six host cities can help determine how many hours an average local would have to work to buy a seat (using income data from the time of each tournament). By that measure, only South Africa in 2010 was more expensive. Tickets for next year's World Cup in Brazil are supposed to be among the cheapest they've ever been, according to FIFA, soccer's governing body Though prices can get pretty high, local residents will be able to purchase tickets to most games for as low as 60 reals ($27). A FIFA spokesperson said that Quartz’s analysis of the ticket prices “is not accurate,” adding, ”The ticket system has been created to provide a fair and equal chance to all Brazilians to have a chance to buy a ticket for a FIFA World Cup match.” Ticket prices are one of the most controversial issues of hosting the World Cup—and one reason why FIFA held an hour-and-a-half press conference today hashing out details of its ticket scheme. Critics charge that locals, who foot much of the bill with tax money, often can’t even afford to go to the event. In June, more than a million demonstrators in Brazil protested over the large sums being spent to host the tournament rather than on services for the general public. That’s one reason why officials promised to donate as many as 100,000 tickets to poor and indigenous communities in Brazil as well as to the construction workers who built the stadiums. They are offering a 50% discount to students and the elderly, meaning some seats will be available for as low as 30 reals (about $14). FIFA said that price was the cheapest of any World Cup tickets offered since 1990.
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