500 Million World Cup Ticket Requests Collide With Sticker Shock for 2026 Knockout Rounds

FIFA says more than 500 million ticket requests poured in for the 2026 World Cup during a 33-day sales window that closed this week, a figure it is calling a milestone without precedent in sports.

But as fans await word on whether they made it through the lottery, many are confronting something else that feels new: knockout-round tickets priced in the thousands of dollars, and a much-touted $60 “low-cost” option that most say they cannot actually find.

The tension between record demand and rising prices is emerging as an early defining feature of the first 48-team men’s World Cup, which will be staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026.

FIFA said Wednesday that more than half a billion ticket requests were submitted between Dec. 11, 2025, and Jan. 13, 2026, in the first “Random Selection Draw” phase. The governing body said applications came from residents of all 211 member associations, with especially heavy interest from the three host nations as well as Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Colombia.

The requests, which FIFA said were tied to unique credit card data, averaged about 15 million per day. With total ticket inventory estimated at roughly 6.5 million seats for the tournament’s 104 matches, the World Cup is, on paper, oversubscribed many times over.

“This is a new benchmark for demand in the history of world sport,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement, describing the 2026 edition as “the greatest and most inclusive show on the planet” that will “bring the world together like never before.”

For many supporters, though, the difficulty is not just getting a ticket — it is being able to afford one.

A steep price ladder

FIFA has not published a single master price list, but indicative ranges from the global sales portal and national association briefings show four main standard categories for each match, from Category 1 (central, lower-tier seats) down to Category 4 (upper corners and more restricted views).

For group-stage games, Category 4 seats — the cheapest regular tickets — start at around $60 and can run into the low $100s. Category 1 seats for the same matches can reach $300 to $600 or more, depending on the matchup and venue.

Prices rise sharply for the knockout rounds. Round-of-32 and round-of-16 tickets reach several hundred dollars in prime sections. Quarterfinals and semifinals climb into the mid-hundreds and low thousands of dollars for the best seats. For the final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, some standard tickets have been offered at prices as high as $8,680, according to sales figures cited by organizers.

Those amounts do not include hospitality packages, which are sold separately through FIFA’s partner On Location. Those products — which can bundle premium seats with lounges, food, and corporate entertainment — are priced in the tens of thousands of dollars per person, with some pitchside lounge experiences marketed at more than $60,000.

The governing body has also adopted dynamic pricing, an algorithm-based system under which ticket prices can move up or down with demand within set bands. FIFA used a similar model at the expanded Club World Cup in 2025. Officials have said prices for the 2026 World Cup will not fall below $60, even if demand softens in certain markets.

That minimum is notably higher than for recent tournaments. In Russia in 2018, some of the cheapest tickets available to international fans fell below $100. In Qatar in 2022, while average prices rose by roughly a third compared with 2018, there were locally targeted categories that allowed residents and certain workers to buy group-stage tickets for the equivalent of about $10.

For 2026, there is no comparable, broad-based low-price tier for residents of the host nations.

The $60 ticket — and its limits

Under pressure over affordability, FIFA and some national associations have highlighted a specific $60 “supporter” ticket as evidence that ordinary fans will not be shut out.

Tournament organizers say each match includes an allocation of tickets at that price, intended primarily for fans who follow a particular national team and have a record of previous attendance at its games. Those seats are managed by the 48 participating federations, not directly by FIFA’s public portal.

In practice, fan groups and independent ticket analysts say those $60 seats make up a very small share of overall inventory, often under 5%, and are concentrated in upper-tier sections for early group-stage games. They also say the process for accessing them is opaque.

Applicants in the main Random Selection Draw generally do not see a discrete $60 option when they choose matches and categories, according to accounts shared by supporters. Instead, they submit requests at the prevailing price levels — frequently several hundred dollars a seat for in-demand games — and are later informed if they have been reclassified into a cheaper supporter category through their national federation.

Supporters on message boards and social platforms have described the arrangement as a “lottery within a lottery.” To maximize their chances of attending, some say they felt pressured to request large bundles of tickets across multiple matches and cities, authorizing potential charges running into the tens of thousands of dollars.

Fans push back

In the United States, where the men’s national team has never previously hosted a World Cup as a primary co-organizer, many long‑time followers say the cost of attending their first “home” tournament is higher than they expected.

“The pricing seems extremely counterproductive for the vast majority of fans and I fear that passionate fans will not be able to attend,” said Michael Dovellos, a member of the American Outlaws supporters’ group based in Indiana.

John Martinez, a Houston-based fan, said the event still feels out of reach for many in his community. “It’s kind of disheartening because this is a once in a lifetime thing,” he said. “A lot of people who probably have as much or more passion than I do probably won’t be able to go because the tickets are going to be so ridiculous.”

U.S. supporters have also pointed to the overall cost of travel between far-flung host cities such as Seattle, Dallas and Miami, as well as high hotel prices in markets like New York and Los Angeles. Several say they are already planning to watch from fan festivals or bars instead of stadiums.

In England, where traveling fans routinely follow the national team in large numbers, some members of the official England Supporters’ Travel Club have turned down ticket offers for the later stages over price.

British media have reported that for the final at MetLife Stadium, only a small allocation of the very cheapest seats for England’s official contingent was taken up, while higher-priced tiers — ranging from about £3,000 to more than £6,000 per ticket — saw little interest. Similar patterns have been described for quarterfinal and semifinal allocations, with some supporters suggesting they may stay away even if England reaches those rounds.

One long-standing England fan, Simon Harris, called the situation “a complete mess” and said the prices were “unaffordable” for many regular travelers.

Who will be in the stands?

FIFA and local organizers say the scale of global demand underscores the enduring pull of the World Cup and justifies a complex ticketing and pricing structure. Officials also point to measures such as a centralized resale platform, designed to curb touting, and a special ticket exchange tailored to Mexican regulations.

Supporter groups counter that high price points and limited discount options risk changing the character of the tournament, especially in host cities with large local football communities.

The 2026 World Cup will be the largest in history, with 48 teams, 104 matches and 16 host cities, including Atlanta, Toronto, Mexico City and Vancouver. The opening match is scheduled for June 11 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, with Mexico facing South Africa. The final is set for July 19 at MetLife Stadium.

Fans who entered the first Random Selection Draw are due to start receiving emails on the outcome of their applications from Feb. 5. Further sales phases, including first‑come, first‑served windows, are expected closer to the tournament.

For now, the gap between more than 500 million requests and a few million available seats is clear. How those seats are distributed — and who can afford them — will help determine whether the 2026 World Cup feels like a global celebration shared by ordinary supporters, or a spectacle watched mostly from afar.