Final ‘get-in’ price for France vs Spain in World Cup semi-final revealed as FIFA disappointed

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For many supporters, France’s meeting with Spain in today’s World Cup semi-final is the tournament’s ‘real’ final.

While England vs Argentina on the other side of the draw might have the blood-and-thunder appeal, it is hard to argue that 2018 champions France and reigning European champions Spain have not been the tournament’s best two sides.

The clash will be the final World Cup match staged in Dallas this summer. Over the past few weeks, it has been one of the most lucrative venues for FIFA, world soccer’s governing body.

Led by the controversial Gianni Infantino, FIFA have squeezed every last cent from ticketing, hospitality and in-stadium sales of food, drink and merchandise.

In total, FIFA’s income is expected to exceed $3bn, a near-300 per cent increase on the tournament in Qatar three-and-a-half years ago.

However, the first semi-final, where Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal are set to face each other, has arguably not generated the anticipated demand for tickets.

Get-in price for Spain vs France crashes in week before semi-final

Sure, Spain vs France will be a sell-out and – probably – one of the most lucrative games in FIFA’s history.

However, in terms of the 30 per cent commission that FIFA is charging on tickets sold through its official resale platform, late demand has been disappointing.

Statistics from Ticket Data show that the ‘get-in’ price (the cheapest available tickets in a pair) nosedived in the week leading up to the semi-final, from a high of nearly $2,200 nearly a week ago to a final price of $1,284 barely half an hour before kick off in Texas.

That is a bigger problem for the professional resellers who bought tickets anticipating a surge in late demand than it is for FIFA, but Infantino and his commercially-minded peers will have wanted to squeeze as many cents on the dollar as possible from the final four games of this tournament.

And given that the commission that FIFA are earning on resales has more or less halved with moments to go until the first semi-final kicks off, they will likely be a little frustrated.

That said, the demand for England vs Argentina remains strong. The get-in price is up by 22 per cent over the last three days, though still well short of the high of nearly $5,000 you would have needed to guarantee entry to the Atlanta Stadium earlier in the tournament.