FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the match schedule reveal for the 2026 soccer World Cup in Washington, this past Saturday.Chris Carlson/The Associated Press
Soccer fans have accused FIFA of a “monumental betrayal” after the latest prices for World Cup tickets began to circulate on Thursday.
The governing body allocates eight per cent of tickets to national associations for games involving their team to sell to the most loyal fans.
And a list published by the German soccer federation revealed prices ranged from US$180-US$700 for varying group stage games. The lowest price for the final was US$4,185 and the highest was US$8,680.
Those group-stage prices are very different from FIFA’s claims of US$60 tickets being available, while the target from United States soccer officials when bidding for the tournament seven years ago was to offer hundreds of thousands of US$21 seats across the opening phase of games.
Fan organization Football Supporters Europe (FSE) described the current prices as “extortionate.”
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“This is a monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup, ignoring the contribution of supporters to the spectacle it is,” it said in a statement.
The English Football Association shared pricing information with the England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC) on Thursday evening, which showed that if a fan bought a ticket for every game through to the final it would cost just over US$7,000.
FIFA said in September that tickets released through its website would initially range from US$60 for group-stage matches to US$6,730 for the final. But those prices are subject to change as it adopts dynamic pricing for the first time at the World Cup.
FIFA tickets are available in four categories, with the best seats in Category 1.
Germany's Assan Ouedraogo, centre, celebrates after scoring during a group A World Cup qualifying match against Slovakia in Leipzig, Germany last month. Fans will have to spend if they want to see Germany at the 2026 World Cup, with tickets starting at $180.Matthias Schrader/The Associated Press
In the price list published by the German federation, there were only three categories.
The lowest priced ticket was US$180 for Germany’s opening group game against Curaçao in Houston. The lowest price for the semi-final was US$920 rising to US$1,125.
The FSE called on FIFA to immediately halt ticket sales via national associations “until a solution that respects the tradition, universality, and cultural significance of the World Cup is found.”
The Associated Press approached FIFA for comment.
Latest phase
FIFA launched its third phase of widespread ticket sales Thursday, with fans now able to apply for specific matches for the first time through its “Random Selection Draw.”
Following last week’s draw for the 2026 tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, an updated schedule has been published.
That means fans know when and where the likes of Lionel Messi and Argentina will play. Previous ticket ballots were blind as the qualification period had not even been completed and the draw was yet to take place.
Now participating nations have been placed in groups, with their paths through the tournament determined. For instance, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could go on to meet in the quarter-finals in Kansas City if both Argentina and Portugal top their respective groups.
Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring his team's first goal in a South American qualifier last year against Bolivia. Fans envisioning an Argentina-Portugal clash in the knockout round of the 2026 World Cup will find a red hot ticket market.Matias Baglietto/Reuters
Not that fans are guaranteed to get tickets to the games they apply for.
The draw opened Thursday at 11 a.m. ET and closes Jan. 13, 2026.
FIFA says ticket applications can be made at any point during this window and the timing of entry will not impact the chances of success. Fans can apply via FIFA’s website for a maximum of four tickets per household per match and a maximum of 40 tickets throughout the tournament.
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Fans will need a FIFA ID to apply for tickets and can pick which matches and which pricing category they want to apply for.
Successful applicants will be notified by email in February and charged automatically.
Prices
The last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994 prices ranged from US$25 to US$475. In Qatar in 2022 prices ranged from around US$70 to US$1,600 when ticket details were announced.
Tickets for the final at MetLife Stadium on July 19 are already going for in excess of US$11,000 on secondary resale sites.
For this tournament FIFA has also set up its own resale platform where it charges a 15 per cent fee based on the total resale price.
FIFA said that closer to the tournament any remaining tickets will go on general sale on a first-come, first-served basis.
It did not reveal a time frame for the release of those remaining tickets.