FIFA’s first open sale of 2026 World Cup tickets revealed eye-watering prices, with fans paying up to $10,990 (£8,333) for a seat at the final — thought to be the most expensive general admission ever for a football match.
When the US, Canada, and Mexico bid to host the tournament, their World Cup bid book promised that final tickets would cost no more than $1,550 (£1,174). By the time tickets went on sale to official supporters’ clubs in December, the top price had already jumped to $8,680 (£6,581). Prices increased again during Wednesday’s open sale.
For comparison, tickets for the 2022 Qatar World Cup final cost a maximum of $1,604 (£1,214).
FIFA’s pricing remains opaque, using a type of dynamic pricing, where costs shift depending on demand at each sale stage. This makes it hard to know the exact prices or availability of tickets across different categories.
Observations from the open sale show significant jumps compared to December:
- Category 1 (top seats) – $10,990 (£8,333)
- Category 2 – rose 32.8% from $5,575 (£4,227) to $7,380 (£5,596)
- Category 3 – rose 38.2% from $4,185 (£3,173) to $5,785 (£4,386)
Even the cheapest tickets were still pricey, with some starting at $60 (£45).
Fans faced technical issues during the open sale:
- A virtual queue showed misleading wait times, jumping from two minutes back to 15.
- Early users were wrongly directed to tickets reserved for playoff winners, forcing them to start over.
- Many top matches, including England and Scotland games, were unavailable during the first attempts.
Of the 72 group matches, 35 had tickets available initially:
- Prices ranged from $140 (£106) to $2,985 (£2,261)
- Average displayed price: $358 (£271)
- The priciest group match was Mexico vs South Africa at $2,985 (£2,261), with only a tiny fraction of the 87,000-stadium capacity available
Luxury suites were even more expensive:
- Example: England vs Panama – $124,800 (£94,444) for 24 match tickets with food and drinks, equaling $5,200 (£3,935) per person
FIFA has not provided free tickets for wheelchair assistants. Tickets must be purchased at full price, and companions may not be seated together.
- USA vs Paraguay (13 June): 1,406 Category 1 tickets at $2,735 (£2,072)
- Canada vs Bosnia-Herzegovina: 846 Category 1 tickets at $2,240 (£1,697)
FIFA’s resale platform, charging a 15% fee for both buyers and sellers, reopens Thursday and is expected to push prices even higher. New tickets could be released right up to kick-off, but availability changes constantly.
