FIFA Reveals Controversial 2026 World Cup Ticketing Policy -

By Griffin Cappiello

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to kick off next summer in stadiums across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, many fans have begun their quest to get their hands on tickets for the world’s biggest sporting event.

FIFA — expecting over five million fans from all over the world to attend next summer’s competition — announced their policies for fans who want to acquire tickets. Ticket sales will operate in phases, the first of which began September 10. The Visa Presale Draw gave qualifying Visa cardholders the first chance to gain access to tickets. Those cardholders who logged onto FIFA’s website, created a FIFA ID, and inputted their card information will be entered into a random lottery for a chance to win a date and time slot with the opportunity to purchase tickets, though there is no guarantee that tickets would be available for purchase during said time slot.

Sound confusing? You’re not alone. And that was just the first phase!

The second phase — the Early Ticket Draw — which is expected to begin on October 27, will be similar to the first, with the notable exception that applications for the Early Ticket Draw will be open to all fans, not just Visa cardholders. Fans who were not eligible for the Visa Presale Draw, as well as those whose lottery entries were unsuccessful and those who want to make additional ticket purchases will be permitted to do so in Phase Two and subsequent phases.

Following the Final Draw for the World Cup, in which the groups and matchups for the beginning stage of the tournament are determined, Phase Three — the Random Selection Draw — will begin. Fans will be able to submit applications for tickets for specific matches in the group stage. Closer to the start of the tournament, fans will be able to purchase any remaining tickets on a first-come, first-served basis.

Image courtesy of Los Angeles World Cup.

FIFA reported that more than 1.5 million people applied for the Visa Presale Draw within the first twenty-four hours, much to the dismay of the many fans who faced technical difficulties on FIFA’s website.

“We are experiencing initial extended wait times as the registration period opens,” a FIFA spokesman told The Athletic. “Importantly, timing of a fan’s entry into the Visa Presale Draw will not impact the fan’s chance of success — everyone who registers during the entry period will have the same likelihood of being selected to have the opportunity to purchase tickets.”

Other fans who were able to log into the website thought it would be a good idea to double their chances at being selected by registering a spouse or a child over eighteen years of age. However, fans were quick to discover a portion of the FAQs of FIFA’s website that reads: “If FIFA identifies multiple registrations originating from the same household, it reserves the right to disqualify those entries and prevent the associated individuals from being selected in the draw.”

The Athletic reported a number of mixed responses from FIFA spokesmen, but the consensus seemed to be that “fans should not be concerned,” though the situation is “complex” and has many “different nuances.”

This was not the extent of the ticketing controversy that faced FIFA; the organization’s announcement of “variable pricing” also faced backlash.

While the initial cost for tickets will begin at $60, prices could reach up to $6,370. Prices will fluctuate based on demand, though FIFA draws a distinction between dynamic pricing and their policy of variable pricing.

According to the 2026 FIFA World Cup Chief Operating Officer, Heimi Schirgi, variable pricing means that the mechanisms that determine “how the prices are adjusted are not as steep and are more balanced across the different phases.”

“What FIFA is doing is adapting to the domestic market,” another FIFA official told The Athletic. “And it’s a reality in the U.S. and Canada that events are being priced as per the demand that is coming in for that event.”

The decision to utilize the variable pricing model faced significant backlash, most notably from New York City mayoral candidate (and self-professed soccer fan) Zohran Mamdani.

Image courtesy of Fox News.

“What we’re seeing is that FIFA’s approach to the ticket process of the World Cup is both without precedent in their own administration of previous World Cups and is also an approach that will price out so many New Yorkers from actually being able to be in the stands,” Mamdani said on the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast.

As the World Cup approaches and more fans gain access to tickets, the specifics of how variable pricing will work will become more apparent. Until then, however, fans will remain in the dark about how much tickets will actually cost.