FIFA president Gianni Infantino, left, presents Prime Minister Mark Carney with a novelty World Cup ticket in Ottawa on Oct. 10.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Soccer fans who lost out on the first round of tickets for next year’s World Cup are getting another crack at seats after FIFA opened a four-day window on Monday to register for what it is calling the Early Ticket Draw.
And this time, fans in Canada will go to the front of the line for the 13 games to be played in Toronto and Vancouver, alongside fans in Mexico and the United States, who will have exclusive access to the games they are hosting before tickets go on sale to the rest of the world.
Fans can register their interest at FIFA.com/tickets until Friday, Oct. 31 at 11 a.m. EST, in hopes of being chosen in a randomized lottery for an opportunity to buy tickets next month. FIFA expects to sell about one million tickets in the new tranche, matching its sales in the first phase.
The second phase includes a time slot of up to 72 hours, subject to inventory, beginning Nov. 12, that will be accessible exclusively to residents of the three countries hosting the World Cup. FIFA said on Monday that 75 per cent of the single match tickets being sold in the second phase will be made available during that exclusive domestic time slot.
Fans who are chosen for either the early window or the general global sale will receive notification at least 48 hours before their time slot opens.
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“We already have seen massive interest from around the world for this tournament, and especially from within the host countries as Canada, Mexico and the United States prepare to host the biggest FIFA World Cup yet,” said Heimo Schirgi, FIFA World Cup 26 chief operating officer, in a press release.
“This second phase, with its host country domestic exclusivity time slot, will allow us to say thank you to these local fans, while ensuring global opportunity as well.”
The worldwide sale of the second phase begins Nov. 15. Unlike in the first phase, ticket buyers are not required to have a credit or debit card issued by Visa, one of FIFA’s global partners.
Prices will not be disclosed until the sale begins. FIFA is using variable pricing, which sets the price of tickets according to supply and demand.
Canada's Richie Laryea during a soccer match against Colombia in Harrison, N.J., on Oct. 14.Seth Wenig/The Associated Press
Tickets for Team Canada’s first game, on June 12 at Toronto’s BMO Field, went on sale in the first phase for $2,440; $1,735; $1,000; and $495 including tax, depending on the category of seat. Canada’s other two group-stage matches, in Vancouver on June 18 and 24, were priced at $665, $495, and $230 in the top three categories.
Prices skyrocketed on the secondary market. On Monday afternoon, tickets to Canada’s first game, which were priced at $1,000 when they sent on sale this month, were asking $1,387.75 to $11,500 for Category 3 seats on FIFA’s official marketplace reseller/exchange site. (No Category 1 or 2 seats were available at that time.) Tickets to Canada’s second game were far more reasonable, asking $2,064.25 to $3,220.46 for a Category 1 seat.
Tickets that include luxury hospitality offerings, which went on sale in July, are still available for most matches, at prices that start at approximately $1,960 per seat.
The third phase of tickets, during which the bulk of seats will be sold, is slated for some time after the official tournament draw, which takes place Dec. 5, when most of the group-stage matches will finally be set.
FIFA says it will release whatever tickets remain “closer to the tournament…on a first-come, first-served basis.”
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In its press release announcing the second phase, FIFA noted that possession of a ticket to a match “does not guarantee admission to a host country,” and urged fans to “visit each host country’s government website today for entry requirements.”
In June, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order restricting travel to the U.S. from 19 countries including Iran, whose men’s team, now ranked 21st in the world, had already qualified for the tournament.
Trump has further scrambled planning with unprecedented threats to a number of cities in that country, such as Boston and Philadelphia, with removal of the games they are scheduled to host. Though he acknowledged FIFA makes the final call, he noted that he and FIFA president Gianni Infantino are close. “He wouldn’t love to do it, but he would do it very easily,” Trump said.
FIFA is expected to sell about 7.5 million tickets in total for the 104 matches, which kick off next June 11.