Soccer fans have accused FIFA of a “monumental betrayal” after the latest prices for tickets to the 2026 World cup began to circulate Thursday.
The governing body for international soccer allocates 8% 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 $180 to $700 for varying group stage games for next year’s tournament that will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United Sttates. The lowest price for the final was $4,185 and the highest was $8,680.
Those group-stage prices are very different from FIFA’s claims of $60 tickets being available, while the target from U.S. soccer officials when bidding for the quadrennial tournament seven years ago was to offer hundreds of thousands of $21 seats across the opening phase of games.
Fan organization Football Supporters Europe described the current prices as “extortionate.”
“This is a monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup, ignoring the contribution of supporters to the spectacle it is,” FSE said in a statement released Thursday.
The English Football Association shared pricing information with the England Supporters Travel Club on Thursday evening, which showed that if a fan bought a ticket for every game through to the final it would cost just more than $7,000.
FIFA said in September that tickets released through its website would initially range from $60 for group-stage matches to $6,730 for the final. However, those prices are subject to change as the association 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.
In the price list published by the German federation, there were only three categories.
The chepest ticket was $180 for Germany’s opening group game against Curacao in Houston. The lowest price for the semifinal was $920, rising to $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.”
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.”
After last week’s draw for the next tournament, an updated schedule was published.
That means fans know when and where the likes of reigning champion Argentina and star Lionel Messi 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 Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo could go on to meet in the quarterfinals in Kansas City if both teams top their respective groups.
Not that fans are guaranteed to get tickets to the games they apply for.
The draw opened Dec. 11 at 11 a.m. Eastern and closes Jan. 13.
FIFA saod 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.
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.
The last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994, prices ranged from $25 to $475. In Qatar in 2022, the most recent tournament, prices ranged from close to $70 to $1,600 when ticket details were announced.
Tickets for the 2026 final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, near New York City, are already going for in excess of $11,000 on secondary resale sites.
For this tournament, FIFA has also set up its own resale platform where it charges a 15% 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.