Tickets for next year’s FIFA World Cup will use dynamic pricing, meaning fans will pay different prices according to demand.
Those keen to go to the tournament, which is being hosted across the US, Mexico and Canada in 2026, will have their first chance to get a limited number of tickets next month.
And with dynamic pricing, also known as surge pricing, involved, Heimo Schirgi, the World Cup’s chief operating officer, has warned fans to “get tickets as early as possible”.
FIFA has already issued a warning to fans to be “wary” of unofficial websites purportedly selling tickets that aren’t yet on the market, after Sky News discovered tickets already being sold for eye-watering prices by the platform Vivid Seats.
Here’s all you need to know.
The tournament runs from 11 June to 19 July 2026 and will be played at 11 sites in the US, three in Mexico and two in Canada.
A total of 48 countries will be involved and 104 games will be played overall.
The host nations automatically qualify and will play all three of their group stage matches on home soil.
Stadiums where games will be played include:
United States:
• Atlanta Stadium
• Boston Stadium
• Dallas Stadium
• Houston Stadium
• Kansas City Stadium
• Los Angeles Stadium
• Miami Stadium
• New York New Jersey Stadium
• Philadelphia Stadium
•San Francisco Bay Area Stadium
• Seattle Stadium
Mexico:
• Estadio Azteca Mexico City
• Estadio Guadalajara
• Estadio Monterrey
Canada:
• Toronto Stadium
• BC Place Vancouver Stadium
Tickets for the World Cup will be released in three phases, each with slightly different rules on who can buy the tickets and how.
Phase one
The first phase is a Visa Presale Draw for people with a valid, unexpired Visa debit card, credit card, or reloadable prepaid card enabled with 3D Secure.
To be in the draw, individuals have to create a FIFA ID and submit an application form between 10 and 19 September.
Registered individuals will be given a date and time to purchase tickets starting from 1 October, with tickets on a first-come, first-served basis.
Falk Eller, FIFA’s director of ticketing and hospitality, said there are approximately one million tickets available for the first Visa presale.
Phase two
The second phase, called an early ticket draw, is likely to run from 27 to 31 October, with time slots to purchase tickets made available to registered individuals from mid-November to early December.
Phase three
The third phase, called a random selection draw, will start after the final draw of teams on 5 December determines the World Cup schedule.
FIFA said tickets will also become available closer to the tournament on a first-come, first-served basis.
Hospitality tickets
Hospitality tickets have been on sale since May for the eight matches at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, including the final on 19 July.
These allow individuals access into VIP lounges, the option to hire private suites and exclusive “platinum access” tickets, which FIFA defines as an “all-encompassing experience with full-service customisation”.
American Airlines has also announced that members of its AAdvantage loyalty programme can redeem miles for World Cup tickets from 13 to 15 October.
Three different types of tickets will be available during different phases of ticket sales. These include:
• Single match tickets – includes one entry to any of the 104 matches in the tournament.
• Venue-specific tickets – includes tickets to several matches scheduled at a particular stadium, except the opening match in each host country or any quarter, semi or final matches.
• Team-specific tickets – includes tickets to each of a chosen team’s three group stage matches.
Single match tickets and team-specific tickets will be available in all sale phases, while venue-specific tickets will be available ahead of the final draw.
Prices for group stage matches during the Visa presale will start at $60 (£44), with later stage matches, including the final, reaching up to $6,730 (£5,000), FIFA says.
This is an increase from a range of $25 (£19) to $475 (£353) the last time the US hosted the tournament in 1994. For the 2022 tournament in Qatar, tickets cost the US dollar equivalent of $69 to $1,607.
Prices for hospitality tickets are considerably more, ranging from $3,500 (£2,604) to $73,200 (£54,467) per person.
FIFA said it plans to introduce an official resale platform later this year, allowing ticket holders to resell their tickets securely.
Mr Eller, director of hospitality and ticketing at FIFA, said resale prices would not be capped, due to a need to compete with unofficial resale outlets and ensure a regulated environment.
Dynamic pricing is commonly seen when purchasing plane or train tickets and hotel room rates during holiday seasons.
But backlash over its use escalated when tickets for the Oasis Live ’25 tour went on sale last August.
Fans who had waited for hours in a virtual queue were left fuming to find out standard tickets, originally worth £148, were being sold at a dynamic pricing level of £355 on Ticketmaster.
Criticism was so widespread that it led to the Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill being put forward in the House of Commons, which, if passed, would require music and sports ticket sellers to tell fans the maximum prices at the start of the buying process by law.
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Ticketmaster says the goal of dynamic pricing is to “give fans fair and safe access to tickets true to market value” and because it is based on demand, the price of tickets does not always increase.
Dynamic pricing was used for this year’s controversial Club World Cup, which also took place in the US, but it was a struggle to fill the mammoth state-side stadiums, including some which will be used for the World Cup.
As a result, for the semi-final between London’s Chelsea and Brazil’s Fluminense, tickets were cut from $473.90 (£352) to $13.40 (£10). Similar dramatic drops were seen for both teams’ quarter-final matches, where tickets went for as low as $11.15 (£8.30).
For those outside the US, Canada or Mexico, securing tickets is not enough to guarantee you will be at World Cup games.
People travelling to the US or Canada will need to secure visas in order to make it to the tournament. Most tourists do not need a visa to travel to Mexico.
For example, if travelling from the UK to America, Britons will need an ESTA for visits under 90 days, or a B-2 visa for longer stays.
From the UK to Canada, Britons will typically need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA), which allows visits for up to six months.
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FIFA has warned that any ticket holder who fails to obtain the necessary visa or travel authorisation, or is denied entry due to non-compliance with any requirements, will not be entitled to any form of compensation.
Due to the time it takes for visas to be issued, fans are being encouraged to complete applications as soon as possible.
