FIFA Introduces New Ticket Pricing Tier for World Cup Amid Fan Concerns

FIFA has confirmed that fans of the national teams that have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be able to access a new dedicated ticket pricing tier to make matches more affordable, amid growing concerns from fans about escalating ticket prices.

The newly introduced Supporter Entry Tier will be available at the fixed price of $60 per ticket for each of the 104 matches, including the final.

Entry-tier tickets will be allocated specifically to supporters of qualified teams, with the selection and distribution process managed individually by the participating member associations. Each PMA will define its own eligibility criteria and application process. FIFA says that 50 percent of each PMA allocation will fall within the most affordable range, namely the Supporter Value Tier (40 percent) and the Supporter Entry Tier (10 percent), while the remaining allocation is split evenly between the Supporter Standard Tier and the Supporter Premier Tier.

In addition, fans applying through the PMA allocation whose teams do not advance to the knockout phase will have the administrative fee waived when refunds are processed for unsuccessful applications.

In total, FIFA’s new $60 price tier will apply to around two per cent of all 2026 World Cup tickets, but a number of Member Associations and supporter groups are still calling for further pricing restrictions to make matches more affordable to fans.

Ticket Price Concerns and Submitted Requests

It comes amid a growing backlash and scrutiny from fans who say that they are being priced out of World Cup tickets due to being too expensive. Tickets have reportedly been sold using dynamic pricing methods (for the first time at a FIFA World Cup), although FIFA did recently hint that it was moving away from the practice. The governing body also previously said that tickets for group-stage matches would begin from $60, with the most expensive reaching peaks of $6,730.

Since its Random Selection Draw sales phase opened last week on December 11, FIFA claims that more than 20 million ticket requests have already been submitted, including five million in the first 24 hours alone. The ticketing phase, which enables fans to book individual matches, select ticket categories and choose the number of tickets they want, will remain open until January 13, 2026 at 11:00 ET (17:00 CET).

High Demand for Tickets

According to FIFA, the three host nations (Canada, Mexico and the United States) are leading the way in ticket requests, ahead of fans in Colombia, England, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Scotland, Germany, Australia, France and Panama.

Early figures suggest that the group-stage matches seeing the most demand are:

• Colombia v Portugal (Miami, June 27)
• Brazil v Morocco (New York/New Jersey, June 13)
• Mexico v Korea Republic (Guadalajara, June 18)
• Ecuador v Germany (New York/New Jersey, June 25)
• Scotland v Brazil (Miami, June 24)

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place across Canada, Mexico and the United States from June 11 to July 19, 2026, and it will be the first edition to feature 48 national teams.

Fans can enter the Random Selection Draw at this link, and tickets are also now available to purchase via the FIFA Resale/Exchange Marketplace.

FIFA claims that as a not-for-profit organization, it reinvests the revenue it generates from the FIFA World Cup to “fuel the growth of men’s, women’s and youth football throughout the 211 FIFA Member Associations globally.”

It adds that it expects to reinvest over 90 per cent of its budgeted investments for the 2023-2026 cycle back into the game.