The final of the Champions League is the biggest occasion of the year for any club and with the final being staged at a neutral venue it also give s the neutrals a chance to witness some of the great European players challenging for the biggest prize at
club level.
This year the final of the champions league will be held at the New Wembley in London on May 28th and just on Wednesday the ticket prices were revealed for the mega event.
It is with no pleasure it is reported that the ticket prices fro this year’s final will be the highest ever.
Normally a UEFA champions league final ticket is available to a neutral fan for about 60-80 pounds but this year the cheapest ticket on general sale will be 150 pounds which down not include a 26 pound administration fee, while the cheapest category available
to the fans of the clubs that make it to the final will be 80 pounds plus administration fee.
UEFA’s director competitions, Giorgio Marchetti has said that the organization had no option but to keep the prices in line with events such as the European championship final and the Wolrd Cup final.
Marchetti said at the ticket launch at London’s City Hall: “The prices are based on the type of event and when you compare it to other events we don’t think that the Champions League final is overpriced. We do not want to squeeze every single penny out of
the market. We have to benchmark this event against other comparable events, like for example the final of the Euros and the World Cup. Last year there was already a significant increase compared to the previous editions but it’s nothing to do with being in
London and it is still priced below comparable events.”
Uefa has announced that about 11000 tickets will go on general fans to the neutrals at the prices of 300, 225 and 150 pounds with a wheel chair entry costing 80 pounds.
With another 25000 tickets allocated to the clubs participating in the final and will be available through respective clubs for a price of 80 pounds.
The prices of the final tickets have risen sharply since the 2009 final in Rome and the category 3 tickets have almost doubled in price.
Marchetti was posed with some hostile questioning by the media present at the launch as they saw the administration charges and the cost of youth packages just another money minting ploy by UEFA.
This will be the first time that the final of the Champions League will be played on a Saturday instead of a Wednesday as the UEFA president wanted more people to attend the final, especially young children.
Marchetti said that UEFA has tried to put the tickets for children on sale for a discounted price but as a matter of fact the package for one adult and one child is costing 338 pounds, which is almost double of what it used to be before.
About the 26 pound administration fees, Marchetti said that it had to be incorporated as there were costs involved.
On a question about the women’s champions league final at Craven Cottage on 26th of May, where the tickets just cost 5 pounds, Marchetii said: “That is a nasty question. I hope you don’t think the men’s final and women’s final have the same target
of people. We are not making a profit, we have different targets and objectives for the women’s final. This is the market price. Do you think we would have trouble filling Wembley if the prices were higher? You think it would be different? We try to strike
a balance between the interest of the supporters and the interest of the event. Why should we price the tickets lower than what we think is a fair level?”