Tickets for Sunday’s World Cup final between England and New Zealand at Lord’s are being offered for resale with a mark-up of thousands of pounds, despite the ICC warning it will cancel tickets purchased via unauthorised outlets.
The ICC provides its own platform on which unwanted tickets can be sold on, and has repeatedly made clear its dissatisfaction with secondary ticketing sites offering seats at vastly inflated prices.
On Friday morning, two seats in the Compton Stand were on sale on StubHub for £16,584.80 (US$20,776) each – more than 50 times their face value of £295. Several other packages were being touted at prices of £3000-4000 (US$3700-5000).
The ICC has previously counselled those with unwanted tickets not to use unauthorised resale sites.
“In order to maximise attendance and support the long-term growth of cricket, we have worked hard to ensure that genuine fans from around the world can attend CWC19, with an affordable and fair ticket-pricing policy being a top priority for this tournament,” Steve Elworthy, ICC Cricket World Cup managing director, said.
“It is therefore very disappointing to see tickets on secondary ticketing websites selling at vastly inflated prices. We are doing our utmost to limit the secondary ticket market, however, a lack of legislation in the UK means we are restricted in the preventative action we can take to stop fans being ripped off and forced to pay over the odds. We have been and will continue to cancel the accounts and tickets we see being sold on secondary sites.
“The only way fans can guarantee their ticket will be valid is to buy it from the Official Ticket Re-sale Platform, which allows fans unable to attend the final to sell to other genuine fans at face value. Anyone purchasing tickets from an unauthorised source, either online or in person, faces the risk of being left out of pocket and unable to enter the venue.”
Tickets for the final were originally sold in Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze bands, ranging in price from £395 (US$495) to £95 (US$120). The ICC site offers fans until midday on Saturday to put unwanted tickets up for sale.
There had previously been concerns about the possibility of low attendance for the semi-final between England and Australia at Edgbaston – although in the end the ground was very near full – with many tickets having been bought in advance by India fans expecting their side to play there. A similar situation could affect the final, after India suffered a surprise defeat to New Zealand at Old Trafford.
England and New Zealand will contest the World Cup final, with both teams looking to lift the trophy for the first time. The game will be broadcast free-to-air in both countries, after the respective host broadcasters made arrangements to lower their paywalls. (ESPNCricinfo)
