Albania – Serbia ticket scandal rocks AFF as black-market prices soar to €1,300 per ticket

The Albanian Football Federation (AFF) is under fire after thousands of fans were shut out of the ticket selection process for the June 7 Albania–Serbia match, only to see a flood of tickets appear on the black market at extortionate prices.

Why this is important: What was supposed to be a fair and secure ticketing system has turned into a public scandal. While genuine fans were left empty-handed after an “electronic lottery,” resellers have hijacked the process. The situation raises serious concerns about FSHF’s transparency and ability to manage high-profile events.

Context: Ticket demand for the Euro qualifier between Albania and Serbia reached record-breaking levels, with over 200,000 applications submitted. To handle this demand, FSHF introduced an electronic draw system. But the outcome has sparked outrage as thousands of regular supporters failed to get tickets, while resale sites like Viagogo are flooded with listings.

What happened: Black market prices have skyrocketed. Standard seats are now going for up to €170, but the main scandal lies in premium listings—reaching up to 130 thousand ALL (over €1,300) for a seat in the main stand. Fans are accusing AFF of poor planning, lack of transparency, and allowing third-party profiteering to hijack the process.

Critics claim that tickets never reached true fans. Instead, they argue, bulk quantities ended up with resellers who are now exploiting demand for massive profit.

What’s next: Public pressure is mounting on the AFF to explain how tickets ended up on resale platforms in such large quantities and why the system failed to deliver on its promise of fairness.