Sky high ticket prices for UEFA Champions League final at Wembley
Football is the most-followed sport in Europe and the UEFA Champions League final attracts the interest of almost every football lover of the continent. Fans planning to watch the final in the stadium are forced to think twice as ticket prices are sky-high for the clash. With all four English teams alive in the tournament, it is highly possible that one of the four might play the finals. If this happens, one of the teams will be playing a home game as the final is scheduled at the Wembley Stadium in London.
Officials have announced that 11,000 seats will be available for neutral supporters and they will be placed in three different categories. The lowest price for the category is £150, the middle tier is at £225 and the highest price for the neutral category is £300. On top of these charges, there is a fixed administration fee of £26. In last year’s final at Madrid, a fourth category of £70 had been offered to facilitate more neutral fans. However, UEFA has withdrawn this category for the general public for this year’s final. Wheelchair entry will be priced at £80, which too, is at a very high trend.
UEFA Director of Competitions Giorgio Marchetti supported the prices and said that they were in line with other mega events. He explained, “The prices are based on the type of event and when you compare it to other events, we don’t think that the Champions League final is overpriced.”
On the other hand, Michael Brunskill of Football Supporter’s Federation is furious at the prices. He strongly condemned them and said the UEFA wanted to squeeze every penny out of the market. The angry Brunskill said, “To ask fans to fork out between £150 and £300 for a single match ticket is outrageous; it strikes of profiteering at the supporters’ expense.” He further criticised the administration fee and said that the £26 fee was just “like a cherry on top of a pretty disgusting cake”.
The final will be played on the 28th of May, Saturday. The UEFA decided to schedule the game on a Saturday instead of a Sunday to cater to more children, which of course will again generate more for the body.
London’s Wembley Stadium has a capacity of 90,000 spectators and UEFA is estimated to mint £14 million from the match. The money earned from this year’s final will be £3 million more than what Madrid’s final had generated.
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