British Prime Minister Starmer spoke out on Tuesday, becoming the latest high-profile politician to express his views on the protests triggered by World Cup ticket prices. He called on FIFA to take further steps to make World Cup tickets more affordable for fans.

Starmer's statement comes after FIFA had previously launched a small number of low-priced tickets under pressure from national football associations and fan groups.

Starmer said in a statement: "I welcome the news that FIFA is introducing low-cost tickets for some fans. But I have saved up for England tickets before, so I hope FIFA will do more to reduce ticket prices and avoid the World Cup being divorced from the loyal fans who really make this event unique."

In the United States, Mamdani, the elected mayor of New York City, is also concerned about this issue. He promised to appoint a "World Cup commissioner" to push FIFA to lower ticket prices ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

"I will make full use of my platform and take every opportunity to make my position clear to FIFA," Mamdani told CBS News in New York on Sunday.

FIFA's ticket pricing scheme has caused strong dissatisfaction among fans around the world, who are worried that they will miss out on football's top events due to excessive ticket prices. The agency has been particularly criticized for its dynamic pricing system, which adjusts ticket prices based on market demand.

When the United States, Canada and Mexico jointly bid to host the World Cup, the bidding plan showed that the lowest ticket price could be as low as $21. Before the recent price adjustment, the lowest ticket price for any stage of the event was more than $100, and no ticket for the finals was less than $4,185.

European football federations and fan groups were the most prominent critics in the protests.

"We are shocked that FIFA is charging such high ticket prices to the most loyal fans of next year's World Cup," the European Fans Association said.

The group pointed out in a statement: "This is the first time in the history of the World Cup that there is no unified pricing for tickets for all games in the group stage. Instead, FIFA has introduced a floating pricing policy, and its pricing is based on vague criteria such as the popularity of the event."