England fans to pay just £45 for World Cup opener tickets after clever move from FA
Some lucky England fans will pay a bargain £45 for the Three Lions' opening World Cup game - and throughout the tournament - thanks to a clever move by the FA.
The 2026 World Cup is in full swing and it's already been a tournament of dramatic upsets, colourful fans and sensational stories, like Tunisia's manager being sacked after just one game.
But there have been plenty of negativity surrounding the North American tournament, too, with a VAR referee being accused of making a 'white power' gesture and everyone growing annoyed with enforced hydration breaks.
Astronomical prices have also mired the World Cup, especially when it comes to tickets for the games themselves.
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Even though large swathes of empty seats have been spotted at many of the matches so far, tickets have been going for thousands.
But the FA have played a clever trick to ensure a lot England fans won't have to pay through the nose to watch their nation in action.
How the FA have kept World Cup tickets cheap for England fans
England take on old foes Croatia in their first Group L match on Wednesday in Dallas' AT&T Stadium, which boasts its own sky-high prices for beer and food.
But some England fans should at least have some cash to spare as the FA have ensured that £45 ($60) tickets will be available to them.
As reported by The Sunday Times, The FA will not release the cheapest - 'supporter entry' - tier of tickets throughout the tournament until the day before the game to avoid the risk of scalpers hoovering them up to sell for massive profits.
Only a few hundred of the low-cost tickets were made available to each country's official supporters' club by FIFA but, as they are digital tickets instead of physical, they are only accessed when permitted by the FA.
Whereas tickets sold by FIFA can be accessed straight away and then resold, with the organisation taking a 30 per cent cut of every ticket sold on its resale platform.
As a result, some fortunate England supporters will be able to watch Thomas Tuchel's side for far less than other football fans.
“This has been well thought through by the FA, and Fifa could easily have looked into doing something similar to prevent fans having to pay rip-off prices," Thomas Concannon, a spokesperson for the Football Supporters' Association, told The Sunday Times.
“The FA’s move has gone down quite well with supporters who don’t want to think that those lucky enough to get the cheap tickets will just sell them for a big profit.
“It’s safe to say everyone is annoyed by Fifa’s policy. There is real disappointment among the fan base that people have been priced out and many who would normally go to every England game have just not been able to afford it.”
$60 tickets will even be available for the final, should England make it all the way to New Jersey on July 19.
Things haven't gotten to a great start for England, though, after their equipment was stolen last week.
Now, full-back Tino Livramento has been ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury.
Daniel Murphy