Michel Platini spoke to the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly more than three years ago in Strasbourg. Platini is the president of UEFA, so he gave a moving presentation indicating that football as a social resource for good was being attacked by terrible societal forces.
He made an argument that “special interests and the interests of corporations, especially when overwhelming in numbers, benefits the wealthy and powerful rather than the general population.” He tried hard to capture everyone’s hearts as he added, “Turning a profit is now the higher goal over triumphing in the sport.”
The Wembley Champion League season tickets are priced at £176, according to Platini’s group. Critics abound throughout Europe, declaring the fee is highway robbery. It is 15% up from 2010 ticket prices and is out of reach of the average person.
Not only has it increase by nearly 100% in the past two years, there is a £26 fee. The only explanation for this extra cost is administration.
The spokesperson to the media for UEFA, Giorgio Marchetti said, “We are not looking to milk the market.” He also said that there was no discrepancy between their prices and similar sporting events. He used the FIFA World Cup Final as an example from 2010.
50,000 tickets will be shared between the two clubs competing at Wembley, costing £80, which is not astronomical. Yet, there will be a whole batch of 11,000 tickets that will be sold for £150, £225, and £300. Add on the stamp fee of £26 for the final prices.
It is hard to hide this problem when there are numbers like these. Tickets are priced to take full advantage of the marketability of the events.
The UEFA website is a contradiction to their practices. Thrown in your face are photos of children in third world nations holding footballs. They are supposed to find escape through the sport while their families are being blown apart by war or starving to death. Yet, UEFA is raking in the money from the tickets for the sport.