FIFA only harming itself with absurd World Cup ticket prices

Key Highlights

• So much so that it frantically tried to remedy things earlier this week with the sort of baby step that makes minimal impact and goes nowhere near far enough. The good news though is that it might empower fans to get off their backsides, realize they have leverage and dial up the resistance. I'm talking about the prices of tickets sold via the federations of the qualified teams -- or, as FIFA calls them, Participant Member Associations (PMAs).
• They account for about 16% of the total tickets (8% per team, per game), and prices for these tickets were set absurdly high: from $180 to $700 for the group stage, according to data released by the German federation.
• So high, in fact, that on Tuesday, after significant backlash from fan groups, FIFA announced a new "entry tier" of tickets priced at $60. Is this a victory for fans raising their voices at not being fleeced?
• Hardly.
• More like FIFA realizing, in its desire to squeeze dollars out of fans, that it was doing something profoundly damaging ...