The fourth and final phase of ticket sales for the 2026 World Cup began on Wednesday, the FIFA announced, without specifying the number. This last-minute ticket sale phase started in the morning on the official FIFA.com/tickets website, as stated in the global body’s press release. Tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis until the end of the competition on July 19. Tickets will be gradually released, including on match days, according to FIFA.
Buyers were directed to a waiting page before accessing the site, where they queued for several hours. A countdown will appear before entry to the ticket sales phase is allowed, with an “Entry” button appearing for five minutes once the countdown is completed, per the instructions.
In total, over 7 million tickets are available for sale for the tournament, taking into account the capacities of the 16 stadiums of the World Cup. More than 3 million tickets have already been sold in the first three phases, with over a million sold in the random selection sales phase in January and February, which received 500 million requests, according to FIFA.
Record to Beat
The global body expects to surpass the historic record of 3.5 million tickets sold for a World Cup set in 1994. The upcoming tournament, jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, will feature 48 teams and 104 matches, including 78 in the U.S.
Ticketing has sparked controversy, as FIFA has been accused of offering tickets at exorbitant prices contrary to promises made during the tournament’s allocation to the three host countries. The European supporter organizations have lodged a formal complaint against FIFA, alleging abuse of monopoly power.
FIFA defended the ticket prices, attributing them to high demand, said President Gianni Infantino. A ticket category at $60 reserved for official supporter clubs was introduced in December, but according to the FSE, this allocation was nearly exhausted before public sales opened.
Also, FIFA will reopen the official ticket resale and exchange platform on Thursday. This platform faced criticism for the high resale prices of tickets. FIFA clarified that they do not intervene in the resale market, where the reseller sets the ticket price in Canada and the U.S., while reselling at a higher price than the purchase price is prohibited in Mexico.
