• Auckland FC’s Nick Becker warns fans against unofficial resale tickets for Saturday’s sold-out game against the Wellington Phoenix in Penrose. 
• Scalpers are reselling tickets at 10 times the original price, making it difficult for genuine fans. 
• Becker confirmed the A-League club does not benefit from the high prices charged by scalpers and suggested alternative viewing options. 

Auckland FC’s boss is warning fans who missed out on tickets to this weekend’s sold-out local A-League derby to steer clear of ridiculously priced unofficial resale tickets and instead go to a bar and watch the match with mates. 

Scalpers are attempting to resell tickets to Saturday’s game against the Wellington Phoenix at Go Media Mt Smart Stadium at up to 10 times the original price. 

Auckland FC chief executive Nick Becker said this makes it “really difficult” for genuine fans, with the club not benefiting in any way from the price-gouging. 

Tickets usually range from $30 to $60, however, tickets have been cropping up online for around $400 each. 

Becker said Facebook and Trade Me sales are an “unregulated market” and put fans at risk of losing their money. 

“You don’t know whether you’re buying a genuine ticket and the inflated prices are ridiculous.” 

Auckland FC chief executive Nick Becker (left) and coach Steve Corica. Photo / Photosport 

Becker suggested parking up with friends at a bar showing the game or catching the intense rivalry by the Kiwi A-league teams in February instead. 

“It is amazing that the derby sold out so many days in advance. 

“But please don’t pay ridiculous prices for what could be a dodgy ticket on Trade Me or wherever it may be.” 

Trade Me policy and compliance manager James Ryan said for the vast majority of events people were allowed to on-sell legitimate tickets but noted there were safeguards on its website to monitor listings and detect anything that raised a flag. 

“For us it’s a balancing act - it’s disappointing if genuine fans aren’t able to get their hands on tickets when they are made available, for whatever reason. 

“However, on the flipside, Trade Me provides fans who missed out with an alternative option for getting along to an event. 

“At the end of the day these are trades between a willing buyer and a willing seller and the prices are market forces at work.” 

He said tickets to a lot of events were often sold cheaply on Trade Me where people were able to recoup the costs of a ticket if they could no longer attend the event. 

Trade Me would only pull ticket listings if members couldn’t prove they had them in their possession, or if the promoter/event organiser had cancelled the tickets or if they fell under the Major Events Management Act. 

Sheridan Oades tried to get tickets for her football-mad husband and brother-in-law and was shocked at the resale prices. 

“But yeah, it’s disappointing to see people take advantage of fans and make more money off it,” Oades said. 

She said she understands the tickets are in high demand but “people are going crazy with it”. 

Fans at Go Media Mt Smart stadium during the match against Sydney FC in October. Photo / Photosport 

Oades said she remained hopeful she would get a few tickets from Facebook resale groups from genuine people selling for a fair price. 

Auckland FC have worked with management at Mt Smart Stadium to open up the embankment at the northern end of the venue for extra fans to attend this Saturday’s derby match. 

With the extra capacity, the venue will be able to hold 26,253 people – precisely one more than the current regular-season record (held by the Phoenix) of 26,252. 

Becker said the expected turnout was “amazing”. 

“This is really exciting for not only football fans but sports fans in general ... I think New Zealand sports fans have been waiting for another good derby to come along.” 

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.