IN BRIEF
- Ordinary seats for the FIFA World Cup's opening match in Mexico City sold for between $1,800 and $2,500 AUD.
- Such prices are out of reach for many local football fans, who've expressed significant disappointment to SBS News.
When Francisco Orvaños walked into Mexico City's iconic Azteca Stadium to watch the 1986 World Cup, goosebumps appeared on his arms.
Reminiscing about that day, he naturally mentions witnessing one of the most infamous moments in football history: Maradona's 'hand of God' goal.
"Maradona was incredible," he says.
"I don't have words to describe that moment when Argentina won."
Francisco's daughter explains that her father watches football compulsively: any match, any league.
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Another home World Cup, with Mexico playing at the nearby national stadium, would be a dream for him to attend. But a dream it remains.
"I can't go because the tickets were very expensive," he laments.
"I think FIFA is going to kill football."
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'Infantino has gone crazy'
In the final ballot release, ordinary seats for the opening match between Mexico and South Africa — which kicks off in the wee hours of Friday morning AEST — sold for the equivalent of between $1,800 and $2,500 Australian dollars.
On average, group stage tickets in Mexico City cost more than those at any other World Cup venue. That's despite the fact the average monthly salary here is lower than in Canada and the United States.
At a recent press conference outside the Azteca, FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended the ticket prices.
"If you sell it at a lower price point, (tickets) would have gone on secondary markets at much, much higher prices, and where would the money go? To those who organise black market activities and not to football."
FIFA's critics in Mexico don't buy that argument.
"Infantino has gone crazy. FIFA sees the fan as a client, not part of the game anymore," says football writer Rodrigo Márquez Tizano, who won't be attending any of the matches here.
"I'm not nuts, paying that crazy and stupid amount of money to go to a match," he says.
"You buy their food, you buy their drinks — I'm not making these guys richer than they already are."
Sensing the mood among football fans, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said she won't attend the opening match, giving her ticket to a young fan instead.
'It's sad, very sad'
There are likely quite a few younger football fans in the country who would welcome such a gift from the Mexican president.
That group certainly includes the dozens of 11-year-old boys and girls being put through drills on a waterlogged pitch at a junior club in a working-class district of Mexico City.
Among the pre-teen players, excitement for the World Cup is high — but none have a chance of seeing a game in person.
"For them it could be a wonderful experience, even better because it's happening in their country," says Vanesa Dominguez, whose son is the team's goalkeeper.
"Just imagine, it could be wonderful, but the prices are excessive. It's sad, very sad."
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