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The 2026 FIFA World Cup is now well under way, and for those of us of a certain age, it’s hard not to think back to another summer that still holds a special place in British sporting history.
1966.
The year England last won the World Cup.
That was the year when commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme said the immortal words:
“Some people are on the pitch… they think it’s all over… it is now!” as Geoff Hurst hit the fourth goal that gave England victory over West Germany, 4–2.
And sixty years later, England opened their 2026 campaign with a 4–2 defeat of Croatia. The scoreline is a coincidence, but a reminder of 1966, as England try to end “sixty years of hurt”.
Time will tell.
But there is one very noticeable difference about the 2026 World Cup, compared to 1966. How much it now costs for fans to actually watch a game in person.
2026 is the year when ordinary supporters attending the biggest football tournament on Earth might just need to take out a second mortgage to finance their desire to watch football. For the fans of the two teams that get to the final, following them all the way will cost a small fortune.
One big change in the game of football since the 1960s and 70s, is the impact of money on the sport, especially big tournaments like the World Cup.
It is now a commercial extravaganza.
The World Cup in 1966: The People’s Game — Football for Everyone
When England hosted the World Cup in 1966, football was still very much a working-class game. People would attend games in their working clothes. Some still wore a cloth cap, with a rosette pinned to their chest, a scarf around their neck, and a rattle in hand.
And to attend a game at the World Cup back then was cheap. Football fans today might be surprised as to how cheap it actually was.
As today, ticket prices varied depending on the match and seating area, but contemporary reports show that some supporters were able to buy tickets for as little as five shillings (25p in pre-decimal currency). Even the best seats for many World Cup games cost only a few pounds.
And yes, there were tickets for the actual final, priced at five shillings.
That may sound impossibly cheap today, and by comparison to 2026, it was!
