How to get tickets to World Cup 2026 matches in Vancouver

Tickets to the 2026 World Cup are among the most coveted tickets in sports. Buying them, therefore, is both confusing and costly in any host city. Vancouver is no exception.

Aside from a very small amount of $60 tickets offered in the upper deck of BC Place, prices in November ranged from $155 (for some upper-deck tickets in the group stage) to $730 (for lower-level tickets to the Round of 16).

And that’s if you win the opportunity to buy via an official ticket lottery. Otherwise, your best bets are the resale market or a “last-minute” sales phase for tickets leftover after multiple lottery phases have ended.

The following is a guide to getting tickets to the seven World Cup games in Vancouver.

How to get 2026 World Cup tickets in Vancouver

World Cup tickets aren’t sold by stadiums or local teams. They’re sold by FIFA, the global soccer governing body in charge of the World Cup, via a multiphase process.

That means there are multiple avenues to tickets:

• The December-January lottery: Your next chance to buy tickets directly from FIFA is a “Random Selection Draw” that will open on Dec. 11 — a week after the Dec. 5 World Cup draw, when most of the 48 teams will be sorted into groups and assigned locations, dates and opponents. Between Dec. 11 and Jan. 13, you can go to FIFA’s ticketing website, sign up for a “FIFA ID,” enter the draw, and apply for tickets to specific matches. FIFA will then randomly select a minority of applicants, grant them some or all of the tickets they requested, and charge them the listed price in February.
• The resale market: With two lottery phases already completed, and nearly 2 million tickets already sold, plenty are available on the secondary market. You can buy on FIFA’s official resale platform, which offers certainty that the ticket you’re buying is legitimate. You could also go to popular resale sites like StubHub, which are less trustworthy but easier to navigate — and currently offering lower prices.
• Buy at the ‘last minute’: If you’ve missed out on lotteries, there will be a final “first-come-first-served” phase, or a “last-minute sales” phase, in the spring. Any ticket not sold in the lottery phases will go on sale to the general public, just as it would for most other American sporting events. It’s unclear whether FIFA will reserve some tickets for this phase or simply offer leftovers.
• Hospitality: Hospitality packages, which include match tickets, are on sale to the general public. Prices at BC Place range from $2,500 CAD (or $1,779.75) for the “FIFA Pavilion” offering at group games to $9,325 (or $6,638.47) for a “pitchside lounge+” seat at the Round of 16. (The basic “pitchside lounge” offerings were unavailable by November.)
• Country allocations: If you’re a fan of a specific team playing in Vancouver, you could try to go through that country’s soccer federation. FIFA will allocate thousands of tickets per match 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.

How much do World Cup tickets in Vancouver cost?

After some prices jumped in November, tickets to the games at BC Place cost:

Group stage:

• Cat 1 $440
• Cat 2 $375
• Cat 3 $155
• Cat 4 $60-70

Canada Games 2 and 3 in Vancouver

• Cat 1 $540
• Cat 2 $455
• Cat 3 $195
• Cat 4 $80

Round of 32

• Cat 1 $500
• Cat 2 $430
• Cat 3 $190
• Cat 3 $125

Round of 16

• Cat 1 $730
• Cat 2 $595
• Cat 3 $305
• Cat 4 $170

Given FIFA’s use of dynamic pricing those prices, however, are “variable,” have already changed, and will almost certainly change some more once matchups are revealed. Those involving popular teams will cost more.

What are the ticket categories at ‘BC Place Vancouver?

Rather than selling specific seats in specific rows and sections, FIFA sells tickets in categories, then assigns you a seat at a later date.

If you buy a Category 1 ticket at “BC Place Vancouver,” for example, you could be placed anywhere in a section colored yellow on the map below.

The red sections correspond to Category 2. The blue sections are Category 3. The tiny green slivers at the very top of Sections 426 through 430 and 452 through 403, directly behind both goals, are the scarce Category 4 tickets.

Is ‘BC Place Vancouver’ the same as ‘BC Place’?

Yes. For commercial reasons, FIFA asks all World Cup stadiums to strip themselves of any corporate sponsors — especially in their names. In BC Place’s case, the stadium is able to keep its full name because “BC” refers for British Colombia, the Canadian province in which Vancouver is situated. “BC Place Vancouver” is a slight variation of the stadium’s usual name. It’s the same stadium where Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps and the Canadian Football League’s BC Lions play.

Can I buy tickets for all seven games in Vancouver?

In the first lottery phase, if selected, you could buy a venue-specific package that included tickets to a majority of the World Cup matches at BC Place.

In the upcoming third phase, though, those packages won’t be offered, a FIFA spokesman told The Athletic. You’ll have to apply for tickets match by match.

Can I get tickets through the Vancouver Whitecaps?

No. FIFA controls all ticket sales, and hasn’t granted local teams the ability to offer any special access.

How can I watch the World Cup in Vancouver if I can’t get tickets? 

Vancouver unveiled Hastings Park, or the PNE, as the ground for their Fan Festival last year, and has been racing the clock to have the location ready for next summer. This location overlooks the Burrard Inlet is expected to broadcast live matches via a big screen on the new PNE’s amphitheater.

This may be a more economical option compared to a match ticket for fans — but the City of Vancouver recently confirmed the cost of this new amphitheater has climbed to $183.7 million, from an earlier estimate of $64.8 million.