FIFA plunged into new World Cup ticket row after charging disabled followers double
Disabled fans have to fork out up to £337 for group games – and their companions have to pay full price too – unlike last World Cup
FIFA has been plunged into a new World Cup ticket row after charging disabled fans full price and banning their ‘companions’ from watching matches for free.
At the Qatar 2022 tournament disabled supporters were offered match tickets for £8.82 and folk who helped them go to games got in for nothing. But football’s governing body has offered no such concessions for next summer’s soccer showpiece in the US, Canada and Mexico – prompting outrage from supporters’ groups.
That means disabled fans have to fork out up to £337 for group games – and their companions have to pay full price too. Accessibility tickets for the World Cup final cost at least £3,135 – or £6,270 for a disabled fan who needs a helper.
In a letter to FIFA president Gianna Infantino, the Disability & Inclusion Fan Network of Football Supporters Europe said ticket prices for the tournament were ‘extreme’ and ‘prohibitively expensive’.
It called on football chiefs to reduce prices for disabled fans, allow companions to attend for free and engage with supporters’ groups to ‘ensure ticketing policies are fair, inclusive, and aligned with lived experience’.
The supporters’ network said ‘accessibility tickets do not appear to be available in the lowest-priced’ stadium sections of World Cup games.
“People with disabilities across the world often face additional, unavoidable costs related to disability, including accessible transport, accommodation, equipment, and personal assistance,” the fans’ group said. “Extreme ticket prices therefore create a significant barrier to participation in what is meant to be a global celebration of football.”
The letter said the decision to ramp up the prices for disabled fans and charge for companion tickets was ‘incomprehensible’.
“For many supporters with disabilities, attending a match without a companion is not a choice but an impossibility,” the group said.
“Companions are not optional extras or premium services – they are a reasonable adjustment that enables fans with disabilities to access the stadium safely and with dignity.
“Charging for companions effectively doubles the cost of attendance and risks excluding a large section of supporters with disabilities from the World Cup entirely.
“It is, in reality, an unfair tax that FIFA is imposing on people with disabilities, leaving them with only two options – pay twice the amount or stay at home.
“True inclusion is not symbolic or mere words – it requires action that recognises structural disadvantage and removes barriers rather than reinforcing them.”
Accessibility tickets can also be re-sold on FIFA’s website without a price cap – and are already appearing at many times their original value.
“This creates a significant risk of misuse and exploitation,” the letter went on. “These tickets are already appearing on FIFA’s resale platform at prices exceeding six times their original face value.
“This situation undermines the purpose of Accessibility Tickets and risks further excluding supporters with disabilities from access to the tournament.”
The row blew up hours after FIFA caved into fan fury by releasing a raft of cut price £45 seats for matches after supporters moaned it had ramped up ticket prices up to seven-fold since Qatar 2022. FIFA had not responded to the disabled ticket dispute but a source said the matter was being ‘looked into’.
Accessibility ticket concessions have sparked controversy at previous World Cups. At Brazil 2014 fans who got in cheap claiming to be disabled were filmed leaping from their wheelchairs in delight when their favourite team scored.
Some who turned up without companions complained people they did not know started pushing them into stadiums to get in free.
