You can get to watch Scotland at Hampden – if you’ve £3800 to spare
UEFA are selling gold-dust tickets for Scotland’s opening Euro 2020 encounter against the Czech Republic for a staggering £3,800 each as hospitality.
The news comes just a week after it was revealed the Tartan Army are set to only get around 1,900 tickets for the Hampden clashes.
And the European game’s governing body are currently charging over £1,500 more for “Prestige” tickets for Scotland’s home games than for the eagerly-anticipated Auld Enemy showdown at Wembley.
Steve Clarke’s side kick off their first major tournament in 23 years in June when they face the Czechs in Glasgow.
They then travel to face England at Wembley before welcoming Croatia to Hampden for their final group game.
UEFA confirmed that 12,000 will be the capacity for games at Hampden, and also outlined advice for fans at the game, which included a ban on hugging, handshakes and high-fives, mandatory facemasks being worn, and the prospect of having to arrive hours before kick off.
But that hasn’t prevented UEFA from offering an official Prestige ticket at £3,819 each for the home matches against the Czechs and the Croatians.
UEFA advertise the ticket as “The Lounge Experience”, which boasts each ticket holder can “relax in a stylish and vibrant setting, with live entertainment and informal seating, while enjoying premium culinary delights, indulging in a rich buffet offering, with live cooking stations, and pass-around service”.
Although the availability is described as “low”, UEFA are selling them on their official Euro 2020 Hampden website, despite the Tartan Army facing a nervous wait to see how many tickets they will get.
Yet bizarrely, UEFA are offering similar Prestige Platinum packages for the England-scotland tie for “just”’ £2,257 – meaning Hampden games are £1,562 more expensive.
UEFA are yet to confirm the final breakdown of how the 12,000 tickets will now be distributed because they have to wait until their ticket-return portal closes.
They will then have to do a ballot among existing ticket holders because the reduced capacities will almost certainly not meet the demand.
At present, that number is expected to be just 1,920 tickets for the Scotland Supporters Club, based on how UEFA previously decided they would allocate the briefs.
But the SSC has a current membership of 24,712, meaning there will be an almighty ticket scramble among the Tartan Army, with a points system likely to be used.
UEFA’S latest figures indicated 50% will go to current ticket holders, just 6,000.
The remaining 6,000 tickets will be split between both national associations, at 16% (1,920), with the rest split between commercial partners, hospitality, VIP guests and the “UEFA football family.”
Those hospitality tickets can be snapped up immediately to those with extremely-deep pockets.