Not even half of the spots in the 48-team field have been claimed. The schedule of matches won’t be finalized until December. And other than host nations Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, nobody has any idea where or when they’ll be playing. Yet, millions of soccer fans worldwide evidently don’t seem to mind any of those points.
Tickets to next year’s FIFA World Cup officially went on sale last week with buyers having been pre-selected out of 4.5 million applicants in a lottery that took place last month eligible to get first crack at seats.
There are unique questions for consumers heading into the tournament, particularly about how they’ll get U.S. visas, if necessary, to visit the U.S. as the country cracks down on immigration. There are also more traditional concerns such as who, when and where – and none of those will be answered until the draw on Dec. 5.
FIFA knows many fans won’t fret about those answers; they just want tickets now and will figure out the rest later.
“These are not only outstanding figures, but also a strong statement,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on social media, reacting to the 4.5 million applicants for a spot in the first purchase window. “The whole world wants to be part of the FIFA World Cup 26, the biggest, most inclusive and most exciting event ever. From Canada, Mexico and the United States, to countries big and small across every continent, fans are proving once again passion for football truly unites.”
Here are some things to know as tickets go on sale.
What’s for sale?
Fans can purchase seats in one of four categories; Category 1 is the best seats, Category 4 is somewhere around the tops of stadiums. Ticket prices will range initially from US$60 for group-stage matches to $6,730 for the final but could – and almost certainly will – change as soccer’s biggest event utilizes dynamic pricing for the first time.
And when?
A second phase, called an early ticket draw, likely will run from Oct. 27-31, with purchase time slots from mid-November to early December. A third phase, termed a random selection draw, will start after the final draw of teams on Dec. 5 determines the World Cup schedule.
Tickets also will be available closer to the tournament “on a first-come, first-served basis.” FIFA also said it will start an official resale platform.
Some tickets already have been snagged for hospitality packages that have been sold since May.
Nobody has said how many tickets FIFA plans to sell for the June 11-July 19 tournament in the first window. However, availability won’t be depleted; based on the listed stadium attendance figures, there are roughly 7.1 million seats to fill for the 104 matches around 16 North American venues, though it’s unknown how many of those seats will be available for sale to the public.
Who’s in?
The U.S., Mexico and Canada all automatically qualified for as host nations. Also in so far: defending champion Argentina, Japan, New Zealand, Iran, Uzbekistan, Jordan, South Korea, Brazil, Australia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Tunisia, Colombia, Paraguay and Morocco. That leaves 30 spots still unclaimed.
FIFA said fans from 216 countries and territories applied to be part of the first ticket lottery. The top three nations of interest, to no surprise, were the hosts: the U.S., Mexico and Canada, in that order. The rest of the top 10, also in order of application totals: Germany, England, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Spain and Italy.
Canadian content
Toronto and Vancouver will be amongst the host cities for the tournament.
US turmoil
The U.S. cities that are scheduled to host are East Rutherford, New Jersey; Inglewood, California; Foxborough, Massachusetts; Houston; Arlington, Texas; Atlanta; Seattle; Santa Clara, California; Philadelphia; Kansas City, Missouri; and Miami Gardens, Florida.
There is an immigration crackdown unfolding across the U.S., which could dampen overseas interest in travelling to the country. U.S. tourism officials already have noted a drop in overseas visitors this year and even organizers in some U.S. host cities have acknowledged that political on attendance.
Adding to some of the uncertainty, President Donald Trump has suggested that the host cities could be changed if he wants to move some events away from places his administration considers unsafe.
“If any city we think is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup … we won’t allow it to go there,” Trump said. “We’ll move it around a little bit. But I hope that’s not going to happen.”
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