Fans will have their first chance to apply for tickets for the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico beginning on Wednesday, though the tickets won’t be available to the wider public.
The initial draw period, which is limited to Visa card holders, opened at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday and runs through 11 a.m. ET on Sept. 19. Those picked to buy tickets will be notified starting Sept. 29 and will be given a timeslot to purchase starting Oct. 1.
While tickets for all 104 matches are being put on sale, receiving a timeslot does not guarantee tickets will be available.
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A second phase, called an early ticket draw, likely will run from Oct. 27-31, with purchase timeslots from mid-November to early December.
A third phase, termed a random selection draw, will start after the final draw takes places on Dec. 5 in Washington, D.C., to determine the World Cup schedule. FIFA said tickets will be available closer to the tournament “on a first-come, first-served basis.”
FIFA also said it will start an official resale platform.
Sales will be capped at four tickets per person per match, with no person being able to purchase more than 40 for the totality of the tournament.
FIFA confirmed last week that it would be using dynamic pricing at a World Cup for the first time ever, meaning prices will change based on demand for each game. Initial ticket prices will range initially from $60 for group stage matches to $6,730 for the final.
The prices are up from a range of $25 to $475 for the last time the U.S. hosted the men’s World Cup in 1994. At the last men’s World Cup in Qatar in 2022, ticket prices between $69 and $1,607 were announced.
Next year’s World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19 and will be the largest ever, after expanding from 32 teams to 48.
Eleven venues in the U.S., three in Mexico and two in Canada have been chosen to host matches.
The cities selected to host World Cup matches in the U.S. are: New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium); Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium); Dallas (AT&T Stadium); San Francisco Bay Area (Levi’s Stadium); Miami (Hard Rock Stadium); Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium); Seattle (Lumen Field); Houston (NRG Stadium); Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field); Kansas City, Missouri (Arrowhead Stadium); and Boston (Gillette Stadium).
The host nations will play all three of their group stage matches on home soil. The U.S. will open June 12 in Inglewood, California, then play June 19 in Seattle and June 25 back in Inglewood. Canada
The cities officially selected to host World Cup matches in Mexico and Canada are: Guadalajara (Estadio Akron), Monterrey (Estadio BBVA Bancomer), Mexico City (Estadio Azteca), Toronto (BMO Field) and Vancouver (BC Place).
As well as the three hosts, 15 teams have already qualified for the World Cup: Japan, New Zealand, Iran, Argentina, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Australia, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Colombia, Paraguay, Morocco and Tunisia.
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday was critical of FIFA’s dynamic pricing plans, saying in a social media post: “The biggest sporting event in the world is happening in our backyard. But most New Yorkers will be priced out of watching it live.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
