Thursday, January 15, 2026 - Football’s global governing body, FIFA, says it has received more than 500 million requests for tickets to this year’s World Cup, despite ongoing criticism over the high cost of attending the tournament.
In a statement released on Wednesday, January 14, FIFA said
fans from all 211 of its member nations and territories applied for tickets to
the tournament, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The application window for entry into the ticket lottery
closed on Tuesday. FIFA said applicants would be informed whether their
requests were successful no earlier than February 5.
Outside the host nations, the highest demand came from fans
in Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, and Colombia.
The most requested match was Colombia’s group game against
Portugal in Miami on June 27. This was followed by Mexico’s clash with South
Korea in Guadalajara on June 18, and the World Cup final scheduled for July 19
in New Jersey.
“Half a billion ticket requests in just over a month is more
than demand — it’s a global statement,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said.
“I would like to thank and congratulate football fans everywhere for this
extraordinary response.”
“Knowing how much this tournament means to people around the
world, our only regret is that we cannot welcome every fan inside the
stadiums,” he added.
FIFA has faced strong criticism over its ticket pricing
strategy for the expanded 48-team World Cup, with supporters’ groups describing
the prices as “extortionate” and “astronomical.”
Football Supporters Europe said ticket prices were almost
five times higher than those at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In response to the
backlash, FIFA introduced a new category of lower-priced tickets in December,
costing 60 US dollars (51 euros) each.
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