Over the last few years, football fans have seen dynamic ticket pricing (DTP) creeping into our game and shutting out some of the most dedicated supporters. From La Liga matches to the World Cup, it is becoming increasingly common in football.
Dynamic pricing is a strategy that allows prices to change in real time according to demand. Football Supporters Europe (FSE) is not opposed to the concept of dynamic pricing per se. In areas beyond FSE’s remit, our partners in Brussels (including Euroconsumers) have highlighted how, in competitive markets, it can benefit consumers by reducing food waste, facilitating energy flexibility, or helping to distribute products more efficiently.
Football matches, as with concerts and other live events, are not ordinary markets, however, as there is no competition. Fans have one club and cannot go elsewhere. A game or a tournament happens only once. There is only one World Cup. One kick-off time. And usually there is only one seller. When tickets go on sale, supporters cannot simply choose a competing provider offering the same experience at a lower price. The result is that people are charged more not because the product has changed, but because demand is high. The seat remains the same. The experience remains the same. Only the price increases.
That is why Football Supporters Europe (FSE) has joined Euroconsumers, Live DMA, and other partners in calling for a ban on dynamic ticket pricing at live events. We believe the practice is unfair, undermines trust in ticketing systems, creates competition and differential treatment between fans of the same club, and risks pricing many supporters out. Specifically, we are calling on the European Commission to ban dynamic pricing in the live entertainment sector through the upcoming Digital Fairness Act.
The problem for supporters
For football supporters, the issue goes beyond affordability. Dynamic pricing effectively penalises loyalty; it is solely profit maximisation. The more supporters want to attend an event, the higher the price becomes. Rather than rewarding commitment, the system turns dedication into a bidding war. DTP benefits only the seller. The algorithms do nothing for supporters.
This risks excluding many of the people who create the atmosphere, culture, and identity that make football what it is. For years, supporters across Europe have faced rising costs associated with following their teams. Dynamic pricing adds another layer of uncertainty and cost to an already increasingly expensive experience. Its use in football is clear profit maximisation and exploitation of supporter loyalty.
Why the World Cup matters
The debate has become particularly urgent following FIFA’s decision to introduce dynamic pricing (or in FIFA’s words, “variable pricing”) for tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Together with Euroconsumers, FSE has repeatedly raised concerns about this approach and the lack of transparency surrounding how prices are determined.
FSE and Euroconsumers have argued that supporters deserve a clear explanation of how prices are set, what safeguards exist against excessive increases, and how these systems can be reconciled with commitments to accessibility, inclusion, and fair access.
The World Cup provides a clear example of why this issue matters. When demand is guaranteed and supporters have no alternative, dynamic ticket pricing results in prices that are based on what supporters are perceived to be willing to pay rather than the cost of supplying the product. This is anything but fair market value.
It is also become abundantly clear that FIFA has turned match tickets into a commodity, into speculative assets for resale on a secondary market it controls while taking a 30% cut. This led to investment companies, private individuals, and even host cities hoovering up large quantities of tickets for the sole purpose of selling them on at a profit as part of a revenue-generation strategy, meaning fans who miss out are faced with the choice of paying even more for the same product. We therefore support on ban on resale of tickets above face value as well.
This is not only a football issue
While football supporters are directly affected, the problem extends far beyond sport. Supporters attending matches, music fans buying concert tickets, and people attending cultural events increasingly face the same challenge: unpredictable prices driven by opaque algorithms.
That is why FSE is aligning with organisations representing consumers and the cultural sector to come together on this issue. Access to sport and culture should not be determined by who can pay the most at a particular moment.
What FSE is calling for
FSE supports a clear ban on dynamic ticket pricing for live entertainment events. Supporters deserve transparency before entering a ticket queue. They deserve to know what a ticket costs. They deserve protection from pricing systems that reward speed, luck, or purchasing power rather than commitment.
Most importantly, they deserve a ticketing system that recognises supporters as an essential part of football, not simply as a source of revenue.
A supporter-first approach
Football is stronger when supporters can access matches fairly, transparently, and at prices they understand. That principle should not disappear the moment demand increases.
For FSE, this is about protecting access to football, preserving trust in the game, and ensuring that major sporting and cultural events remain accessible to ordinary people rather than becoming opportunities to extract ever greater amounts from those who care most.
As European policymakers consider new consumer protection rules, FSE will continue working with consumer organisations and institutional partners to ensure that fairness, transparency, and accessibility remain at the centre of ticketing policy. Supporters are not a commodity. They are an essential part of the game, and ticketing systems should treat them accordingly.
Make our voice even stronger. Join FSE today.