The prices displayed by the official FIFA ticket office for a World Cup final are experiencing galloping inflation. From the equivalent of 40 to 350 euros in 1998, it is now necessary to pay between 580 and 1,550 euros to go see the Blues in Qatar on Sunday.
A minimum wage is no longer enough to buy a ticket for a World Cup final in category A, these places located in the best places in the stands. At the Lusail stadium in Doha, for the match between France and Argentina, they exceeded the symbolic threshold of 1,000 euros for the first time. And by far since they now stand at 1,550 euros.
In 2018, to attend the second coronation of the Blues in Saint Petersburg, Russia, these same places cost around 940 euros, an increase of almost 65% in the space of four years. In 1998, during the first world victory of the French team at the Stade de France, it was necessary to count the equivalent of 350 euros for the best folding seats in the stands. In two decades, prices have therefore experienced an inflation of more than 340%.
Note that we are relying here on the official amounts communicated by the FIFA ticket office. Resale prices, which can reach staggering sums, are not taken into account.
If the observed increase is very significant for the best seats, it is even more so for first price tickets. In 1998, these were accessible for the equivalent of around 40 euros, while to be present at the Lusail stadium, Sunday, December 18, it will be necessary to pay a minimum of 580 euros. That is an inflation of 1,350%. The dynamic described is also found for the prices of the other matches of the competition, from the group stages to the final stages.
Sources : Fifa, The Observer. Ticket prices have been converted from dollars to euros based on the exchange rates prevailing at the start of each World Cup and then rounded.