by Malta’s official supporters group, the South End Core (SEC) has called for a fairer pricing strategy as locals are being charged ten-fold the price for the same seat to watch Malta against the Netherlands as opposed to Malta against Bosnia & Herzegovina. A comparison between Malta and England, challenges the price hike in comparison to match quality and overall experience between Ta’ Qali Stadium and Wembley Stadium.
SEC Calls For Fairer Strategy
The South End Core, the official supporters’ fanbase of the Malta National Teams, has spoken out for the need to revise the ticket prices for the FIFA World Cup Qualification match between Malta’s Men’s National Team against the Netherlands. This even in view of a number of initiatives for vulnerable groups and academies.
Tickets for the FIFA World Cup Qualification match between Malta’s Men’s National Team against the Netherlands have been hiked up, sending back locals as much as a 100 Euro per ticket in the West Sections, whereas the Millennium Stand tickets cost 75 Euro per individual. A child or over-60 individual would still need to fork out close to 40 Euro for a ticket in the Millennium Stand.
For comparison the tickets for the friendly match between Malta and Bosnia & Herzegovina have been marketed as having a 50% discount for those buying a ticket for the Malta-Netherlands match. However, the tickets for the match between Malta and Bosnia & Herzegovina are priced at 10 Euro per ticket at the West C stand, meaning that the 50% discount would amount to a 5 Euro reduction. This compared to the match between Malta & the Netherlands, where a seat in the same stand would cost 100 Euro.
The full statement is listed below, which also asks to bring back schemes like the ‘Goal Card’ where tickets are bundled across games. Such schemes were popular in the late 2000s where loyal supporters would buy a card that bundled all matches, ensuring that those following the team through every single match get fairer prices.
How Do The Prices Compare Beyond Maltese Shores?
To give some context, it is worth considering what an individual football fan is being requested to pay for watching a match and the experience they would get for the price.
In England, the match between the men’s England team and Serbia will be held at Wembley Stadium. The match will pit the country ranked 4th in the world against the one ranked 34th.
The highest prices are for the Premium Level 1 category in the North and Sound stands, which would give you an almost pitchside and central view, cost 120 Pounds (138 Euro). A slightly wider view would slash the price down to 92 Euro (80 Pounds). This would already be below the West C price being asked for Malta against Netherlands, a match between a country ranked 166th in the world against the 7th in the world.
A slightly higher elevation, but same across-the-pitch view would slash the price down to 50 Euro (45 Pounds). Behind the goal sections go down to even 25 pounds (29 Euro) for an adult ticket. Once again this would be less than the asking price for the ‘behind the goal’ sections at the National Stadium in Ta’ Qali. While the Ta’ Qali National stadium is smaller, one most also consider that the seating is separated from the pitch by an outside track that sends supporters much farther away from the pitch.
Beyond national team matches, incidentally, the UK’s black market sale of Premier League tickets gained attention last week following a check by the BBC Sport.
The comparison ran by the news agency is summarised below. It shows that someone in England should technically be able to watch the top men’s games in the Premier League for around 60 pounds. The black market schemes are sending fans back double to four times as much money.
If one compares the ranking of teams on display, and the discrepancies in pricing between a match between Manchester City and Manchester United in the men’s Barclays Premier League, in the face value price and the hiked prices, one sees a three-fold increase.
Comparison between the match between Malta and the Netherlands and the Malta and Bosnia & Herzegovina shows the same seat will cost you ten-fold.
A comparison between the price asked to watch Malta against the Netherlands and England against Serbia suggests that the quality of seating in the West Stand is equal to that observed at one of the best and most expensive seats at Wembley stadium. This before considering the vast discrepancies in the ranking of the teams on display and the expected balance of the match. That is also before considering the matchday experience offered at Wembley stadium, to that offered in Malta.
The above suggests that there is a valid question to be asked as to why the prices are set the way they are for Malta’s matches as a whole. The ‘Goal Card’ schemes raised by the SEC consider all matches as one, for a supporter of the Maltese national teams to attend all matches, irrespective of the opposition. The actual pricing strategies have been criticised with critics arguing that the value placed by the Malta Football Association is entirely on the Netherlands shirt.
Lead Image: Brandon Bonett
Stay up to date by following The Sporting Fan on social media: Instagram ~ Facebook ~ X
