East Antrim concerns raised about Northern Ireland football ticket prices

Remaining tickets for the World Cup qualifier at Windsor Park are listed on the Ticketmaster site with a starting price of £57 for an adult admission to the North and South Stands.

Mr Hilditch, who is chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s All Party Group on Football, said, “I have been inundated with complaints from disgruntled supporters in relation to the increasing cost of a ticket to the forthcoming internationals and the range of pricing for the games, including the membership of GAWA Official payment, to access tickets.

“The cost for a family can now be in the excess of £200 which is totally unfeasible and this significant hike in cost is outpricing dedicated supporters. I have contacted the chief executive of the IFA and requested a meeting urgently to discuss the concerns raised by the football fraternity.”

However, the football association has stated that the pricing system has remained the same since the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Irish Football Association (IFA) said: “Ticket prices have remained unchanged since the Euro qualification campaign in 2018/19. Tickets are priced based on category of game and Wednesday’s match is a Category A game.

“The price of individual general sale tickets for the Switzerland match are the same as they were for Germany and Netherlands in 2018-19. Looking ahead to the World Cup qualifiers in Belfast in November, the price of individual general sale tickets for Lithuania will be lower, while Italy is also a Category A game.

“We are very encouraged by the uptake on the GAWA Official membership scheme which allowed members to realise a 22% price reduction across a three-match bundle as well as a range of other special discounts.

“General admission tickets for Wednesday’s big game only went on sale last Friday and it is now almost sold out, but we still have a limited amount of tickets available.

“We intend to re-open the GAWA Official membership ahead of our final two home World Cup qualifying games and, health situation permitting, Campaign Cards will resume as normal for 2022.”

The current pricing system has been slammed by the Amalgamation of Northern Ireland Supporters’ Clubs. Posting on social media this afternoon (Tuesday), a spokesperson said: “We have consistently argued that Northern Ireland match tickets must be affordable for as many people as possible.

“By making matches affordable, particularly for families, it creates the next generation of lifelong fans.

“We have raised the issue of pricing with the IFA, most recently with the new IFA president, Conrad Kirkwood and the chief operating officer, Sean Murphy and also during a consultation on the next IFA Strategy.

“We’ve also raised our concerns about the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and where it has left many fans, during a number of meetings this year.

“We will continue to raise this issue with the IFA, however it is clear that many fans feel that ticket pricing has reached ‘tipping point’.”

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