The FIFA World Cup Trophy is displayed during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on 5 December, in Washington, DC. Photo: Pool
FIFA received five million requests for World Cup 2026 tickets in the first 24 hours of the latest sales phase, despite an outcry from fan groups over high prices for the tournament.
Fans from more than 200 countries and territories applied via FIFA.com for seats at the first 48-team World Cup, which will be staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July, 2026.
Football Supporters Europe (FSE) called on FIFA to immediately halt sales of national team allocations, accusing the governing body of imposing "extortionate" ticket prices that risk shutting ordinary fans out of the tournament.
Ticket prices had jumped fivefold from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it said.
Early demand was driven by high-profile group-stage clashes, with Colombia v Portugal in Miami on 27 June the most sought-after fixture so far in the Random Selection Draw period.
Brazil v Morocco (New York/New Jersey, 13 June), Mexico v South Korea (Guadalajara, 18 June), Ecuador v Germany (New York/New Jersey, 25 June) and Scotland v Brazil (Miami, 24 June) round out the top five matches.
After the three host nations, the top countries of residence for ticket requests were Colombia, England, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Scotland, Germany, Australia, France and Panama.
FIFA said the strong presence of South American and Central American fans showed how the tournament was capturing the imagination across the Americas, while Scotland's position reflected excitement over their first World Cup in 28 years.
The Random Selection Draw phase runs until 13 January, with FIFA stressing the timing of an application within that window does not affect chances of success.
Fans can choose specific matches, ticket categories and quantities, subject to household limits, and will be charged automatically if their applications are successful.
Tickets allocated to Participating Member Associations (PMA) - which are typically distributed via official supporters' clubs or loyalty schemes - had reached "astronomical" levels, the European fan umbrella group Football Supporters Europe (FSE), said in a statement.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
FSE said that based on price tables quietly circulated to national associations, a supporter following their team from the first group match through to the final via the PMA route would pay at least $US6900 ($NZ11,882), almost five times the equivalent cost at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
'Monumental betrayal'
FSE said national team supporters were being asked to pay the full amount in early 2026 in order to secure the right to buy tickets all the way to the final.
Adding to fans' frustration, FSE said the lowest price category, Category 4, would not be made available to the most loyal supporters through their associations, with FIFA reserving those tickets for general public sales and subjecting them to dynamic pricing.
The group called that decision a "monumental betrayal" of World Cup tradition and of the contribution of travelling supporters to the tournament's atmosphere.
"For the prices that have been put up by FIFA, we're a bit stunned," FSE Executive Director Ronan Evain told Reuters.
"This is a handful of people who are trying to make as much money as possible from the tournament. And we believe this approach is putting the very nature of the tournament at risk."
"For the final, tickets are going up to about $4,000. You need fans, you need the life in the stands, you need the colour, you need the atmosphere. With these prices, none of this will happen," he said.
The Football Supporters Association, a representative body for fans in England and Wales, said it had asked England's Football Association to lobby FIFA.
"Prices for England's matches have been set as some of the highest, priced at $7,020 if you want to follow the team from start through to the final," a statement read.
"We back Football Supporters Europe in calling for a halt in ticket sales and we are calling on the FA to work with fellow FAs to directly challenge these disgraceful prices."
No consistent prices
For the first time at a World Cup, FSE said, there will be no consistent prices across all group-stage games, with FIFA instead introducing variable pricing based on opaque notions such as the "attractiveness" of a fixture.
That means fans of different teams could pay different amounts for the same category of ticket at the same stage, with little transparency on how prices are set.
Evain said the new structure would push many ordinary fans beyond what they can afford, particularly families.
"A lot of people that were hesitating in travelling to the US are now saying they need to take an extraordinary financial risk, especially if you're a family," he said.
"We are in the region of $30,000 for a family of four. The vast majority of football fans can't afford this. Even in Europe."
FSE urged FIFA to pause PMA ticket sales and open consultations with member associations, supporters' groups and other stakeholders "until a solution that respects the tradition, universality and cultural significance of the World Cup is found."
- Reuters
