With the arrival of US hedge funders at Wrexham, there is no pretence any more. This is just another project, as it always was

Tea and cake. Cobble-close streets. Collectivism. Sugar rush. Hollywood fairytales. And also, as of this week, a minority owner with historical links to celebrity paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Wait! Welsh cakes! Welsh tea! Aggregated tourism benefits. The sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboat-bobbing sea. And also, at one remove, historical links to deceased celebrity paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

• Prices 10 times those promised in initial bid

• Fifa not expected to change policy for 2026

The Football Association will pass on England supporters’ concerns about high 2026 World Cup ticket prices to Fifa. However, despite the growing outrage, it is understood none of the international federations expect world football’s governing body to change its policy.

Anger among supporter groups continued on Friday after it emerged that the cheapest tickets will cost 10 times the price promised in the original bid for the United States, Canada and Mexico to host the tournament. For England fans it will mean having to pay at least $220 (£165) for group games – when the bid document’s ticket model stated the cheapest seats should be $21 (£15.70).

Fifa’s demand that the most fervent supporters cough up a minimum of £5,000 in advance just for tickets is scandalous

It was not mathematically confirmed until the Latvia game a month later, but as I watched Ezri Konsa turn in the third goal away to Serbia in early September I smiled to myself in the Stadion Rajko Mitic, knowing England were going to the World Cup. But immediately, a key question surfaced: was I? The answer came on Thursday, with the announcement of the ticket prices that the most loyal supporters of international football would have to pay. And that answer, emphatically, was no, as it will be for countless supporters worldwide. If you had asked me as a hypothetical what seeing England in a World Cup final was worth, I might have said: “Priceless.” But $4,185 – £3,130 – just for the match ticket? No, no, no.

As a fan, I have been to 14 tournaments – nine European Championships and five World Cups – dating back to Euro 92. I have the money, or at least could get it by dipping into my pension pot, which I was braced to do for hotels and flights. But, in a sentiment being echoed across England, Scotland and all the other qualifying nations, I’m not spending a minimum of about £5,000 simply on match tickets, the price Fifa has put on watching your team from group stage through to the final (the exact total will vary, depending on where a country’s group matches are).

• Final tickets more than £3,000; five-fold rise on Qatar

• Cheapest England tickets are £165 for two Group L games

Fifa has been accused of a ­“monumental betrayal” by fan ­representatives after it emerged that the cheapest tickets for next summer’s World Cup final will cost more than £3,000.

Football Supporters Europe (FSE), which represents fans across the ­continent, described the prices as “extortionate” and called for an immediate halt to ticket sales after a day when England fans ­discovered that tickets to follow their team through the tournament could cost up to $16,590 (£12,375) in the top categories.

• Organisers confirm ‘Pride Match’ activities will take place

• Seattle to host Egypt v Iran in Group G next summer

Plans to celebrate LGBTQ+ rights and freedoms in Seattle during the World Cup next summer will continue despite objections from the Egyptian and Iranian football federations over the “Pride Match” due to take place in the city.

Seattle organisers have confirmed that they are “moving forward as planned” with Pride activities in the city when Egypt face Iran in Group G on 26 June. Rainbow flags will also be allowed into the stadium by Fifa.

• Egypt’s football body says Pride event would clash with values

• Iran raises objections to plans organised by local Seattle group

Egypt and Iran are calling on football’s governing body to intervene in the LGBTQ+ Pride celebration planned to coincide with their group stage match in Seattle at the 2026 World Cup.

Egypt’s Football Association (EFA) said on Tuesday it had sent a letter to Fifa urging them to prevent any LGBTQ+ Pride-related activities during the national team’s match against Iran next June.