Tickets to Republic of Ireland soccer matches are to remain at the same price, but will now be available for single games rather than in bundle deals, the FAI have announced.
The association have come in for fierce criticism for their ticket prices of late, with stand-in Irish captain Stephen Kelly and renowned football pundit and former international Liam Brady amongst those weighing into the debate in the last few days.
Presently, tickets for friendly matches cost between €30 and €45, while competitive games are set at €40-€60. However, certain games had been tied in as part of packages, such as the Macedonia and Uruguay games in the last few days.
As recently as February, the FAI announced a reduction in the price of tickets, but it was evidently not enough for supporters as attendances for Irish soccer matches at the Aviva Stadium have been pitiful.
There has yet to be a full house for an Irish soccer international in the new stadium, while some games, such as last night’s friendly with Uruguay and the Carling Nations clash with Wales last month have attracted audiences of approximately 20,000 people, well below half of the stadium’s full capacity.
The decision to sell tickets for individual games should ensure that attendances for important Euro 2012 qualifiers, such as the clash with Slovakia in September, will increase, but attendances for less significant games, such as the Carling Nations Cup meetings with Scotland and Northern Ireland, will probably remain low.
The FAI released a statement on the matter which read: “Following a review, it will sell all of its upcoming home matches (Northern Ireland, Scotland, Slovakia and Armenia) on a single basis.
“As was recently announced, ticket prices have been reduced by up to 25% for friendly matches and 14% for competitive matches.
“On Monday, the Association will write to clubs to offer them a further special discount offer for the Northern Ireland and Scotland matches which will consist of 50 tickets for €700 (40 children’s tickets for €10 each and 10 adult’s tickets for €30 each).
“A total of 5,000 seats will be made available at this price, equivalent to an average of €14 per seat.
“In addition the Association will continue to offer 1,350 seats for €10 each through its schoolboy/girl affiliates as well as continuing to operate its family section consisting of 2,000 seats in which four tickets can be purchased for €80 through selected media partners.”
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