Scotland Fans in World Cup Ticket Limbo

Tens of thousands of Scotland football supporters remain uncertain about securing tickets for the upcoming World Cup finals, marking the men's national team's first appearance in 28 years. Fans who applied via the Scottish Supporters' Club or the Fifa ballot were expecting confirmation emails by Thursday but have yet to receive any official correspondence. This lack of communication has caused significant distress and panic among the Tartan Army, compounded by intermittent crashes of the Fifa website.

Fifa has faced prior criticism regarding ticket prices, which range from £134 to £523 for group games. Further discontent arose from the limited ticket allocation for traveling supporters. Scotland has been assigned 3,889 tickets for each match against Haiti and Morocco, and 3,736 tickets for their game against Brazil. These numbers represent a fraction of the capacities of Boston Stadium (63,815) and Miami Stadium (64,091).

The ticketing delay adds a layer of disappointment following the team's thrilling qualification victory over Denmark in November. Supporters' groups have expressed concern over the potential for fans to be scattered throughout stadiums rather than grouped together, diminishing the collective experience. The Scottish Football Association has stated that ticket pricing and allocation are solely Fifa's responsibility.