Today, UEFA has announced changes to its ticket price regulations for away fans in its men’s club competitions. These changes came out of tri-lateral discussions between UEFA, Football Supporters Europe (FSE) and the European Club Association (ECA) to identify potential adaptations to the competition regulations to close loopholes impacting away fans. FSE welcomes the decision which was confirmed at UEFA’s Executive Committee meeting on 28th June 2023.
The changes, which come into immediate effect, will ensure a more consistent application of UEFA’s rules on away ticket pricing.
FSE monitors away ticket pricing across UEFA Club Competitions (UCC) and identified a number of loopholes and exorbitant pricing policies. We therefore welcome the amended regulations implemented by UEFA, which should prevent scenarios where away supporters are forced to pay higher ticket prices than home supporters in comparable sections.
Various clubs previously used exemptions for season ticket holders, members or tickets sold in bundles for all group stage games to slalom past the protection of the regulation and overcharge away fans. With the new regulations, this shouldn’t happen anymore.
Following on from last week’s announcement that FSE is to take up seats on UEFA committees, this is yet another milestone as it marks the first time UEFA has meaningfully involved fan representatives in the revision of a regulation that directly affects match-going supporters. It illustrates our joint commitment to improving hosting conditions for away supporters in Europe.
The change in UEFA’s regulations now states “The price of tickets for supporters in the 5% (away) allocation must not exceed the price paid for adult tickets in a comparable sector of the stadium that are sold to supporters of the home team (including tickets sold to season ticket holders, to persons who are members of the club, and/or sold as part of any promotion/promotional package for tickets exclusively for UEFA competition matches).”
Additionally, the amended regulations sees the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) away tickets capped at €25 for away fans for the coming season (instead of €35 the season before). The price cap for the UECL is now aligned to the price of the cheapest category of tickets available at the competition’s final.
FSE values the cooperation with UEFA on this matter and will continue working towards a general reduction of away ticket prices in UEFA Club Competitions for the cycle starting 2024/25.