Champions League: UEFA slashes ticket price for away fans

Tickets for away fans in this year’s Champions League will not exceed 70 euros or N28, 000, UEFA announced on Friday.

In the same vein the ticket price for away fans in the Europa league will not exceed 45 euros or N18, 000.

The slash is not unconnected with recent outcry by fans over the rising cost of tickets for the two championships which ultimately leaves fans financially drained in the course of supporting and following their teams.

Both Manchester United and Liverpool were angered by Barcelona charging 119 euros (about N48, 000) for away tickets in the Champions League last season.

“Fans are the lifeblood of the game and those who follow their teams to away matches must have access to tickets at a reasonable price, bearing in mind the cost they have already had to incur for their trip,”UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said Friday, adding

“By capping ticket prices, we want to make sure that away fans can still travel to games and play their part in making the atmosphere inside football stadiums so special,”

The new price cap comes into effect immediately. UEFA said the new maximum prices were equivalent to the lowest category ticket price for the Champions League and Europa League finals respectively.

“This represents progress, and we commend UEFA for their forward thinking,” Football Supporters Europe Executive Director Ronan Evain said in a statement.

“The cap will eliminate the cases of overpricing, but it is, in our opinion, still too high.

“Thankfully, the impact of the new regulation will be reviewed at the end of the season, and as such, we will focus our efforts on lobbying the relevant parties to lower it.”