FIFA announces $60 tickets for 2026 World Cup after criticism of high prices

(AFP) Fans of teams qualified for the 2026 World Cup will pay $60 per match for their tickets, FIFA announced on Tuesday, in response to supporters' associations that denounced "astronomical" prices.

A new category, "Supporter Entry," will offer tickets "at 60 U.S. dollars each, and available for all 104 matches," including the World Cup final, football's governing body said in a statement.

"This initiative seeks to support first and foremost the fans who follow their national team throughout the tournament," FIFA added.

Last Thursday, the Football Supporters Europe (FSE) association was outraged by the "astronomical prices (...) imposed by FIFA on the most loyal fans."

According to FSE's information, which claimed to have seen the "prices published progressively and confidentially by FIFA," following the same team from the first match to the final "would cost (a fan) at least $6,900 (about €6,000), almost five times more than during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar."

According to FIFA, "20 million requests for tickets have been received to date during the current phase of sales by lottery," which kicked off last Thursday.

"Tactic to calm tempers"

FSE said Tuesday that FIFA's partial change of stance on ticket sales highlighted shortcomings in the pricing for the World Cup to be played in North America in 2026.

"For the moment we are looking at the FIFA announcement as nothing more than an appeasement tactic due to the global negative backlash," FSE said.

"This shows that FIFA's ticketing policy is not set in stone, was decided in a rush, and without proper consultation – including with FIFA's own member associations."

FSE added that "based on the allocations publicly available, this would mean that at best a few hundred fans per match and team would be lucky enough to take advantage of the 60 USD prices, while the vast majority would still have to pay extortionate prices, way higher than at any tournament before."

The organization also criticized the lack of measures for disabled fans or their companions.

Insufficient measures, according to the British Prime Minister

For his part, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed FSE's statements, saying FIFA's cheaper ticket category was not enough.

"I welcome FIFA's announcement of some lower priced supporters tickets," Starmer wrote on X.

"But as someone who used to save up for England tickets, I encourage FIFA to do more to make tickets more affordable so that the World Cup doesn't lose touch with the genuine supporters who make the game so special," he added.

In announcing the $60 tickets on Tuesday, FIFA said national federations "are asked to ensure that these tickets are specifically allocated to loyal fans who are closely associated with their national teams."

FIFA also indicated that if fans purchased tickets for knockout round matches and their team is eliminated at an earlier stage, "they will be exempted from the administrative fee when processing refunds."

The all-price ticket draw for the first round of sales will take place on Tuesday, January 13.

The 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19 and will be the first to feature 48 teams.