FIFA yesterday announced its pricing structure for the '18 World Cup in Russia, revealing that tickets will be available to Russian residents "at a fifth of the price paid by foreigners," according to the MOSCOW TIMES.
Russian residents will have access "to at least 350,000 tickets for the tournament with prices starting at" $20 (all figures US) for group stage games. Group stage tickets "will cost between $105 and $210 for foreigners." A ticket to the final, to be played at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, will cost Russians $110, with "tickets for foreigners costing between $455 and $1100." A two-tier ticketing policy for locals and foreigners "has been in place" at the last two World Cups. Tickets will go on sale to the general public next year (MOSCOW TIMES, 7/6). FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura in a statement said, "We wanted to make sure that we priced tickets fairly to make the events accessible to as many people as possible" (AP, 7/5).
SECURITY CHECK: Samoura added that extra security measures "are planned" for the '18 event "following hooligan violence" at this year's Euro '16 tournament in France. Samoura said there will be "additional measures," including known troublemakers being banned from stadiums. But he "did not provide specifics of the new measures or say whether any FIFA observers were present for the violence in Marseille." Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said, "The security will be unobtrusive, but serious." The AP noted it is not the first time security plans for the '18 World Cup "have been altered." Last year, organizers said that there would be a "greater focus on securing fan zones from terrorism in the wake of attacks in Paris" last fall (AP, 7/5).
