Uefa has announced the ticket prices for the 2011 Champions League final – and they’re high enough to make your eyes water. Supporters can expect to fork out between £150-£300 for a single match ticket along with a whopping £26 administrative fee.
Tickets for the final, which takes place at Wembley on Saturday 28th May, go on sale to the general public between Thursday 24th February and Friday 18th March. Standard match tickets are split into four categories: Category 1 – £300; Category 2 – £225; Category 3 – £150; and Wheelchair £80.
The 2010 Champions League final saw Category 4 tickets available at the price of €90 (approximately £75 at today’s exchange rate) meaning that Uefa has effectively doubled the cheapeast standard ticket. Around 86,000 fans will be in Wembley for the Champions League final with each finalist entitled to 25,000 tickets.
When Uefa moved the Champions League final from its traditional Wednesday evening slot to Saturday evening European football’s governing body claimed one of the main reasons was to make the final more family friendly: “It is also hoped that playing the Uefa Champions League final on a Saturday will give families, especially children, the chance to see the game,” said Uefa online. Yet a “youth package” comprising of one adult and one child ticket for the 2011 final costs £338.
“To ask fans to fork out between £150-£300 for a single match ticket is absolutely outrageous, it just strikes of profiteering at the supporters’ expense. The price on some tickets has doubled in one year and that’s before we even get started on the £26 admin fee which is the cherry on top of a pretty disgusting cake,” said Michael Brunskill of the Football Supporters’ Federation.
“Part of Uefa’s reasoning for a Saturday evening final was to encourage children and families along. How does this square with charging £338 for a family ticket comprising of one child and one adult? On their own website Uefa warn fans not to buy ticket from touts as they’ll only be charged ‘exorbitant prices’ – the FSF would suggest that those in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”