Football Australia accused of treating fans as ‘cash cows’ over World Cup tickets

3 months ago 21

Football Australia has been accused of treating fans as “cash cows” after introducing a $99 annual subscription which offers access to the federation’s World Cup ticket ballot but no guarantee of actually getting a seat.

Entry into the draw for the limited number of tickets assigned to Australia by FIFA was previously free – but under the scheme, fans must now pay for the privilege through Football Account+, a new tier of FA’s existing fan database that also promises a suite of other benefits, dovetailing with its marketing tagline, “more than a ballot”.

Those benefits include a $20 merchandise voucher, discounted tickets for home Socceroos and Matildas matches, invitation to FA events, special access at open training sessions and other “insider content” which the federation says is still being developed. According to an FAQ document on FA’s website, the creation of “additional tiers” is being explored, and is seemingly likely beyond an initial 12-month period.

But membership only provides access to up to two tickets per match, which is troublesome for groups of people or families who want to sit together. And if there are more FA+ members than tickets available, those who have paid the $99 could still miss out on seeing the Socceroos at next year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The move has been widely panned on social media, but FA says nearly 1500 people have already signed up without any paid advertising for the FA+ initiative – bringing in nearly $150,000 of revenue for an organisation that reported a hefty $8.5 million loss earlier this year, and has recently announced it would be hiking its share of grassroots registration fees by up to 20 per cent.

“Why are loyal Australian football fans being asked by FA to pay $99 to follow their national teams?” said Patrick Clancy, the chair of the nascent Football Supporters Association Australia representative group.

“Fans already fork out a lot to follow their national teams. FA must start listening to the fans and not treat us as cash cows.”

A spokesperson for FA said the new tier was “entirely optional” and designed to provide greater value for “fans who want more”, while the funds raised would be reinvested into free fan engagement programs. FA also insisted it had been developed after multiple rounds of consultation with fan groups.

One fan who contacted this masthead, and is eager to take his family to the World Cup, said he was willing to buy two memberships but even then, if both were successful, was told that the four tickets would not necessarily be together.

“The two-ticket allocation … has been implemented to ensure fair and equitable access during a period of extremely high demand with limited tickets available,” the FA spokesperson said.

“We fully understand the importance of families and groups being able to sit together and have been working closely with FIFA to help address group seating wherever possible, and to secure the best outcome for all fans attending the tournament.”

FA+ brings Australian soccer in line with other countries, including England, Canada, Germany, France and the United States, who also charge for access to their quota of World Cup tickets provided by FIFA, which equates to eight per cent of sellable capacity per match.

Sources familiar with the creation of FA+ said the program enabled highly committed fans to come to the front of the queue for World Cup tickets, rather than competing with hundreds of thousands of others under the previous format.

Another source with experience in the sporting tourism sector, who did not wish to be identified to protect relationships, suggested that FA was being “pretty sharp” by spruiking access to World Cup tickets through FA+ without being upfront about the likely cost of those tickets. The cheapest seats are expected to cost more than $400. FIFA is also using “dynamic pricing” for the first time, which means prices will fluctuate based on demand.

The Socceroos’ opponents and match venues – and thus, the price of tickets – won’t be known until the draw for the 2026 World Cup on December 6.