The silence of World Cup tickets is “unacceptable” – a charity for the disabled

FIFA’s failure to address concerns about disabled fans accessing tickets for the 2026 World Cup is “unacceptable”, a charity has said.

Disabled fans face paying more to attend matches as tickets are not available for them in the lowest priced tier of the general allotment.

Personal assistants have been told they will have to pay the full price of the ticket, rather than getting a free or concession fare. FIFA says it cannot guarantee they will get a seat next to the disabled fan they take to the match.

There is also uncertainty about how many tickets will be made available to wheelchair users and how many accessible places will be.

Equal Play says it “raised serious and legitimate concerns” with FIFA more than three weeks ago but has not received a response.

She has now written to national governing bodies and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

“The continued uncertainty about access to tickets is unacceptable,” said Tony Taylor, president of Level Playing Field.

“The current situation seems to expect disabled fans to gamble on cost and access.

“Planning, personal assistance and pricing are vital considerations for fans with special needs, as demonstrated time and time again in our annual fan survey data on standard of play.

“Restricting access to the lowest fare levels and charging personal assistants adds unavoidable additional disability-related costs to attendees.

He added: “Instead of addressing the issue and communicating with supporters effectively, the current response has only been to delay and ignore.”

FIFA has been contacted for comment.

The IBF has come under fire for the high pricing structure at this summer’s event in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

It eventually bowed to pressure by issuing a small number of “affordable” $60 (£45) tickets to general fans for all 104 matches. But there was no such flexibility for disabled fans.

England fans did not receive all of their allocated general tickets for the final and semi-final due to the cost. Around 90% of tickets for the FA final available cost £3,094.