Ex-UK prime minister attacks FIFA over exploiting fans

Ahead of the FIFA World Cup, fans slammed exorbitant ticket prices. Now, a former UK prime minister spoke out.

Gordon Brown, who served from 2007 to 2010, blasted the football federation for ripping off sports fans and turning the game into a platform for the rich to get richer.

“Yes, I think something’s got to be done about this," he said, referring to the claim of FIFA ripping off fans on ticket prices.

He demanded a full inquiry into what was said: the skyrocketing prices have priced many ordinary supporters out of the World Cup.

“There’s got to be an inquiry afterward. You can’t have football at its best if you price ordinary fans out of the game," the ex-Labor leader told PA.

Brown compared the ticket price to the Euro final in Germany, claiming that World Cup ticket prices are up to 40 times higher than those for the final.

“We’ve got real fans, people who have followed the team for years, who just can’t afford to get to these games, and the ticket price for the final, I think it’s about 30 or 40 times what the price was for the Euro final in Germany."

Doubling down on a need for inquiry, Brown said, “These are extortionate prices. It’s got to change."

"They’ve got to have tickets that are available to ordinary families at a reasonable price, and I think what we need is an inquiry afterwards.”

Brown's comments come in the wake of mounting criticism of FIFA over the cost of World Cup tickets in the United States.