Football fans from England and Scotland hoping to attend this summer's World Cup are facing a significant hurdle as ticket prices on Fifa's official resale platform skyrocket.
As of Tuesday, 6,135 tickets were listed by sellers across the six group games involving the two home nations on Fifa's official resale platform. However, Fifa is not currently selling tickets itself for these games and has not released any data on individual matches. It remains unclear whether all tickets have been sold out or if more will be released in the coming weeks.
This situation leaves supporters with a difficult choice: pay inflated prices now or wait in hope that more tickets will be officially released at standard rates. Fifa takes a 30% fee - 15% each off both buyer and seller - from each ticket sold through its platform. The prices are set by the sellers who can be anyone fortunate enough to secure a ticket during one of the sales periods.
Skyrocketing prices
BBC Sport has examined just how much fans are expected to shell out to get into this summer's World Cup. For instance, England's cheapest ticket costs £612 ($805), which is significantly higher than its face value of £327 ($430).
England's Group L matches are expected to be some of the most popular due to a large ex-pat community across the United States. Many members of the England Supporters Travel Club who were unsuccessful in securing tickets via ballot are anticipated to travel to Dallas, Boston and New York hoping they can secure one at these inflated prices.
For example, for England’s opening game against Croatia, even with Fifa’s fees added in, fans would need to pay $898 (£628) – over three times its face value of $265 (£201). The most significant mark-up is seen in category four tickets, which were initially priced at $60 (£45) but are now being resold for as much as $2,300 (£1,748).
High prices across all categories
The asking price for many tickets across categories for the three games is as high as $17,250 (£13,110). Even the cheapest category one resale ticket costs a staggering $1,208 (£918), up from its face value of $600 (£456).
Despite these exorbitant prices, Thomas Concannon from the Football Supporters' Association's England fans' group told BBC Sport that many fans are holding out hope that prices will drop closer to match dates.
Thomas Concannon, Football Supporters' Association's England fans' group member, said:
"The only base we've got to go off really is the Club World Cup. A lot of cheaper tickets became available, and certainly for the later rounds, in what you would consider the bigger games.
"That's all maybe what supporters would have to go off at the minute in the hope that the prices do come down, and what they can be able to obtain through that model."
While the excitement and anticipation around this summer's World Cup continue to build among football fans worldwide, those hoping to attend matches involving England and Scotland must grapple with inflated ticket prices or gamble on more affordable options becoming available in due course.
