FIFA reopens World Cup ticket sales amid pricing controversy

Football body releases additional tickets for all 104 matches as fans criticize new premium categories and pricing structure.

FIFA announced on Tuesday that it would make additional tickets available for all 104 matches at the 2026 World Cup, with sales reopening at 15:00 GMT on Wednesday on a first-come, first-served basis.¹²

The release comes after the football governing body introduced new premium-priced "front category" seating tiers earlier this month, a move that prompted complaints from supporters who said they believed better seats in categories they had purchased were withheld and they were assigned less favorable locations.¹ FIFA did not respond to a request for comment about the new ticket categories.¹

More than five million tickets have been sold out of an expected total of just over six million for the tournament, which begins on 11 June across the United States, Mexico and Canada.² The new sales phase will offer tickets in Categories 1, 2 and 3, in addition to the front-row seat categories, depending on the match.²

Ticket prices have drawn sustained criticism. FIFA initially put tickets on sale in December at prices ranging from $140 for Category 3 in the first round to $8,680 for the final, then raised prices to as much as $10,990 when sales reopened on 1 April.¹ A group of US lawmakers called on FIFA last month to lower costs, saying the use of dynamic pricing has turned the World Cup into an exclusionary enterprise at the expense of fans.²

FIFA said it is using variable pricing, where ticket prices may be adjusted based on a review of demand and availability, rather than dynamic pricing which automatically modifies costs.² The organization also introduced a small number of $60 "Supporter Entry Tier" tickets in December, aimed at making the tournament more affordable for fans of qualified teams, though these cheaper tickets make up only 10% of team allocations.²

The Athletic reported that ticket sales are lagging for the US opener against Paraguay on 12 June at Inglewood, California.¹