Buying tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup is both confusing and costly. But after Friday’s World Cup draw and Saturday’s schedule reveal, a fan’s path to the tournament will become more straightforward.
The draw places teams into groups and determines matchups. The schedule release places matchups in cities, at specific stadiums, on specific dates, at specific times.
And soon, beginning Dec. 11, fans will be able to apply for tickets to those matches. Or, with nearly 2 million tickets already sold by FIFA, they can go to resale platforms and buy on the secondary market.
There are multiple avenues to the 2026 World Cup, which will take place in June and July across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The following is an attempt to explain them.
How to get World Cup tickets
The various routes to World Cup tickets come with varying degrees of cost and certainty. They are:
- The last lottery: From Dec. 11 through Jan. 13, with matchups, dates and locations now determined, fans can enter a “Random Selection Draw.” They’ll be able to go to FIFA’s ticketing website, sign up for a “FIFA ID,” and apply for tickets to specific matches. FIFA will then randomly select a minority of applicants in February, grant them some or all of the tickets they requested, and charge them the listed price.
- Buy at the ‘last minute’: If you miss the lottery or get unlucky, in the spring, there will be a final “first-come-first-served” phase, or a “last-minute sales” phase, where the remaining tickets go on sale to the general public, just like they would for most other American sporting events. But it’s unclear how many tickets, to which games, will be available in this phase.
- The resale market: FIFA has launched its own resale platform. Popular third-party sites like StubHub are also advertising tickets, and are easier to navigate, but less trustworthy. On all resale platforms, including FIFA’s, tickets are significantly more expensive than they were on the primary market at the start of sales — though that could always change closer to kickoff.
- Country allocations: FIFA will allocate thousands of tickets per match — roughly 8% of seats — to the two participating nations. Their national federations — e.g. U.S. Soccer or the English FA — then help sell and distribute some of those tickets via separate processes. You can go to FIFA’s website for these tickets starting Dec. 11, but each federation sets its own eligibility criteria and distribution process, according to FIFA. (The England Supporters Travel Club has a helpful explainer for English fans here.)
When does the next ticket lottery open?
On Dec. 11 at 11 a.m. ET.
But, like with the first two lotteries, you don’t need to rush to your smartphone or computer that day. You can enter anytime between then and Jan. 13. No preference will be given to earlier applicants, FIFA says.
How does the ‘Random Selection Draw’ work?
The upcoming lottery will be different from the first two. In earlier sales phases, you applied for an opportunity to purchase tickets. In this next phase, you are applying for specific tickets — a specific number of tickets to a specific match, in a specific category, for a specific price — which you should be able to see when you log on to FIFA’s portal.
There are then three potential outcomes:
- Successful: You get all the tickets you applied for.
- Partially successful: You get all of your requested tickets for some matches, but none for others. (Note: If, say, you apply for four tickets to a given match, FIFA will not grant you two but deny you the other two; you’ll get either four or zero for that match. This “partially successful” outcome is only possible for people who apply for tickets to multiple matches.)
- Unsuccessful: You get none of the tickets you applied for.
FIFA will notify you of your outcome in February, and automatically charge you for tickets if you were successful. (In other words, once you apply, you’ve committed to the purchase — but, of course, you won’t be charged if your application is unsuccessful.)
What are my chances in the lottery?
Your chances depend on how many people apply for the match in question — and on how many tickets are available in the Category you request.
In other words, if you apply for Category 4 tickets to the World Cup final, your odds are probably long — because “Cat 4” tickets at all stadiums are extremely scarce and the final is the most coveted game.
But if you apply for Category 1 tickets — the most expensive and most widely available tickets — to a group match in Kansas City or Houston between non-contenders, your odds might actually be pretty good.
One important note, according to a person briefed on FIFA’s “random selection” process: Applying for multiple matches does not decrease your odds of getting tickets for any given match. Each request is treated independently. The selection process is match by match, rather than person by person. There is no downside in applying for several matches as long as you obey FIFA’s 40-tickets-per-household limit — and as long as you can afford all the tickets you apply for. (If you apply for 20, and get all 20, you’ll automatically be charged for all 20; there’s no going back.)
How much do 2026 World Cup tickets cost?
FIFA has never published prices, but at the onset of sales, The Athletic published a full price breakdown here. A month later, many prices rose. And some will likely rise again in this next sales phase once matchups are known.
FIFA is employing a “variable pricing” strategy — also known as dynamic pricing — for the first time at a World Cup. In November, it hiked some prices in response to observed demand. In December, it will change prices again in anticipation of expected demand. Prices will almost certainly rise for games involving popular teams, such as Argentina or England. (FIFA could also lower prices for games involving less popular teams, but there is no evidence yet of downward adjustments.)
The next iteration of prices should be revealed on Dec. 11.
Wait, what are World Cup ticket ‘categories’?
U.S. sports fans are accustomed to buying specific seats in a specific row and section. For major international soccer tournaments like the World Cup, though, tickets are typically divided into three or four categories, and fans must buy them without knowing the exact location of their seats.
For the 2026 World Cup, a Category 1 ticket could be anywhere in the lower bowl or somewhere on the second deck of an NFL stadium. The Category 2 sections, for the most part, are on the upper deck along the sideline. Category 3 seats are on the upper deck behind/above the end line. Category 4 is tiny slivers of corner sections on the upper deck, or whatever seats are farthest away from the field.
FIFA has released color-coded stadium maps showing which sections belong to which categories. (The maps are also available on FIFA’s ticketing platforms.)
An example of a World Cup stadium seating chart – this one for the games outside Boston at Gillette Stadium (FIFA)
What if I don’t win the “Random Selection” lottery?
If you’re unsuccessful, tickets are available on resale platforms.
If they’re too costly on those resale platforms, be patient. For many (though not all) sporting events, prices tend to fall closer to the event. That could be the case for all but a handful of the most attractive World Cup games.
“Oftentimes waiting is beneficial,” Matt Ferrel, a TickPick executive, told The Athletic. “If people have tickets and aren’t able to attend, they’re setting the price high to recoup whatever they invested in the game, but what they ultimately want to do is offload the ticket.”
Should I buy on FIFA’s resale platform or others?
FIFA has promoted its resale platform as “a safe and secure and regulated environment for fans to be able to resell their tickets.” What it offers buyers — and what third-party, unauthorized sites like StubHub can’t offer — is a guarantee that you’ll actually get your tickets. The third-party sites threaten to impose penalties on the seller if a re-sold ticket ultimately isn’t delivered to the buyer, and promise to compensate the buyer in a variety of ways if that happens. But nothing prevents a fan or speculator from selling tickets that they don’t actually have.
So, FIFA’s platform is indeed safer. But listings are difficult to decipher. U.S. sports fans, meanwhile, are much more familiar with StubHub. That familiarity, plus a built-in tool that encourages resellers to list tickets at a price lower than other listings in their category, is why the get-in price — the least expensive ticket — for almost every single World Cup game is cheaper on StubHub than on FIFA’s platform. (Websites like TicketData.com are tracking prices on multiple resale sites.)
At the moment, therefore, if you’re looking to buy on the secondary market, you’re choosing between certainty (on FIFA’s platform) and a somewhat lower price (on others).
(StubHub, as of November, was charging sellers a 10% fee and buyers a 21.5% fee, compared to FIFA’s 15% and 15%.)
What if I want to follow a specific team?
In the early sales phases, FIFA offered “team-specific” packages. Now, in the third phase, fans of specific teams will instead be able to apply for what FIFA calls “Participating Member Association (PMA) supporter tickets” — the ones allocated to national soccer federations for each of their three group games and any potential knockout games.
You might only be able to apply, though, if you’re registered with that national soccer federation in some form or fashion. U.S. Soccer, for example, is expected to make its allotment available only to members of its “Insiders” program. The England Supporters Travel Club recently said that its allocation would only be made available to Travel Club members.
Each federation will determine its own eligibility criteria and ticket distribution process. The cost and location of these tickets is not yet known.
How many tickets can I buy?
FIFA says you can buy up to four tickets per match and up to 40 tickets across the entire tournament per household. That limit applies across all sales phases.
There’s been confusion surrounding what, exactly, qualifies as a “household.” FIFA cleared up some of that confusion in September, though it’s not fully clear how the rule is enforced.
If you’d like to go to a game with a group of more than four people, you’ll need to have multiple people register, apply, and buy tickets with distinct FIFA IDs. You could then try to use FIFA’s “Sit Together” function to merge two groups of ticket orders into one, but that function is only available in very limited circumstances. (And if your entire group of five-plus people lives in the same household, you might be out of luck.)
Will fans in the U.S., Canada and Mexico get special access?
There was a “domestic exclusivity” window within the November sales phase, where fans in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. were randomly selected for a chance to purchase tickets in their country. It’s unclear if another such window will open in future phases.
In general, though, the ticket lottery is open to all fans, from the co-host countries and abroad.
At previous World Cups, there were “Category 4” allotments reserved for residents of the host country at lower price points. But in those countries, the average citizen had less purchasing power than the typical World Cup tourist. Here, FIFA won’t need to give Americans a discount.
What about visas for international fans? Does a ticket guarantee entry into the U.S.?
No. If you don’t already have a U.S. visitor visa, you’ll need to apply for one — or for a visa waiver (if you’re from a country that qualifies for the Visa Waiver Program).
And given the lengthy wait times and arduous processes that hinder travelers to the U.S., President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have urged fans to “apply as soon as possible. … Don’t wait ’til the last minute to do it.”
Trump, Rubio and FIFA also announced in November that World Cup ticket holders could get expedited visa interviews via a system called “FIFA PASS.” Although details aren’t yet finalized — FIFA says they’ll be communicated in “early 2026” — a person familiar with the plan told The Athletic that fans who buy tickets on FIFA’s platforms will be prompted to opt in for a “FIFA PASS.” If you do, your information will then be passed by FIFA on to the U.S. State Department. Separately, you’ll apply for a visa, just like any other traveler would, and the State Department will grant you an interview “within 6-8 weeks,” Rubio said.
Rubio clarified, though: “Your ticket is not a visa. It doesn’t guarantee admission to the U.S. It guarantees you an expedited appointment. You’re still gonna go through the same vetting.”
Out of the 9 million people who applied for visitor visas (“B” visas) from October 2023 through September 2024, the U.S. denied 2.5 million (28%) of them, according to government statistics. And experts say the rejection rate has risen sharply in Year 1 of the Trump administration.
No matter your given reason for travel, people with a criminal history, without proof of previous travel, without stable income, or without strong ties to home are more likely to be denied. The same criteria will likely be applied to soccer fans.
FIFA has always clarified: “A match ticket does not guarantee admission to a host country.”
