October 17 – FIFA have sold more than one million tickets for the 2026 World Cup in the first presale draw, the world governing body said on Thursday.
In a statement, FIFA wrote that “fans from 212 countries and territories of residence have already purchased over one million tickets following the closure of the Visa Presale Draw sales phase, which was launched in mid-September.”
“Residents of the three host countries –- the United States, Canada and Mexico, in that order – have been at the front of the queue, snapping up more tickets than anyone else. England, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Colombia, Argentina and France – in order of demand – round out the top ten countries in terms of ticket sales.”
The world federation has, however, received a lot of backlash over its ticket policies, seen as a cash grab. FIFA has not formally listed ticket prices, but group stage matches, excluding the host nations, will cost between $60 – $620. The first sales phase, however, revealed that $60 tickets will be available on an extremely limited basis.
Tickets for the World Cup final start at $2,030 with category 1 costing $6,370. On Thursday, that same category for the showpiece match at MetLife Stadium was available on FIFA’s own resale platform for $20,470 to $57,500, excluding the 15% resale fee.
FIFA is also monetising fans through ‘right to buy’ tokens but fans told The Athletic that they feel “ripped off,” “scammed” or “taken advantage of” by FIFA. The world governing body then revealed that the majority of RTB holders could only purchase highly expensive category 1 and 2 tickets.
FIFA previously said more than 4.5 million fans had entered the first draw. “What an exciting step on our journey toward 2026! As national teams across the globe compete for a place at the historic FIFA World Cup 26, I am thrilled so many football-loving fans also want to be part of this watershed event in North America,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
The world governing body expects to put 6.5 million tickets on sale for the 48-team tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and projects record ticketing revenue of $3 billion. On 27 October, FIFA will launch a second sales phase.
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