Ticket prices raise the question: Will this be the ‘prawn sandwich’ World Cup?




Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane was notoriously fearless and intimidating. During his 12 years at Old Trafford, the Irish midfielder got his hands on 17 trophies and left his mark on many an opposing player.



But one of his most enduring contributions to the game was a comment made after a UEFA Champions League match in 2000, when he invoked a prawn sandwich to deride soccer’s gentrification.



“Some people come to Old Trafford, and I don’t think they could spell football, never mind understand it,” Keane complained. “They’ve had a few drinks and probably a few prawn sandwiches and they don’t realize what’s going on out on the pitch.”



It was a cutting remark that captured the media’s imagination, spawning the derogatory term “prawn sandwich brigade” for privileged fans who were out of touch with soccer’s working-class roots, perhaps more interested in the social scene than cheering for the team. Historically, prawns were a luxury commodity and a subtle display of status and wealth when served at high tea. Rising ticket prices in the Premier League era had been squeezing out traditional fans and their seats had been taken by an upper-crust, fair-weather fanbase.



A quarter of a century after Keane scornfully accused those supporters of hushing the atmosphere inside soccer stadiums, fans and broadcasters still reference anyone partial to a prawn sandwich with a sneer.



They might not use the phrase over in the United States, but many can relate to the sentiment around major sports events like the Super Bowl, where the price of admission has become prohibitive to many.



Two weeks before this year’s showpiece game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans, CNN reported that Super Bowl LIX was set to be the most expensive ever, with the average price hovering around $9,800. Factor in the travel, accommodation, food and merchandise, and this is an experience that few outside the top 1% could even conceive of; it’s for corporate fans who are just as interested in networking, celebrity-spotting and attending exclusive parties as the action on the field.



FIFA President Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump have gleefully described the 2026 World Cup as an event of 104 Super Bowls, and it seems as though the matches are priced accordingly. To watch any of the three host nations play their opening game next summer will cost an average of $1,825, triple the price of Qatar’s opening game in 2022 and almost three-and-a-half times the price of Russia’s first match in 2018.



Globally, soccer fans are furious. Writing on X, the England fan Nigel Seeley, described the prices as “insane.” A dedicated supporter for 30 years, Seeley posted a list of the prices being quoted to the England Supporters Travel Club for each of the eight games they might play, including a price of between $4,185 and $8,860 for the final.