2026 World Cup Tickets: New Pricing, Categories, Rules & Dates

The FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket sales process has been officially announced, bringing crucial details about pricing, availability, and purchase procedures for the first-ever 48-team tournament across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

This comprehensive guide covers all essential World Cup 2026 ticket sales information and what’s different this cycle compared to previous cycles. Much of this content is pulled from FIFA’s FAQ.

How to Buy World Cup 2026 Tickets – In Depth

That said, we also put together a much more comprehensive “How to Buy World Cup Tickets” article here that dives much deeper into FIFA’s processes, tips, etc.

This 2026 Ticket Summary Covers:

World Cup 2026 Ticket Pricing and Availability

We’ve read various articles stating 6 and 7 million tickets so we’ll go in the middle and say 6.5 million tickets will be available for the 104 matches across 16 host cities, with 1 million tickets allocated for the initial Phase 1 lottery system.

Ticket Price Range

The 2026 World Cup will feature the most expensive ticket prices in tournament history:

Cheapest tickets: Starts at $60 (Category 4 group stage matches)
Most expensive tickets: Starts at $6,730 (Category 1 Final tickets)
Category 1 Final pricing: 4x more expensive than Qatar 2022 ($1,605 maximum)

Dynamic Pricing Implementation

We use the word “start” above because….unlike previous tournaments, FIFA will implement dynamic pricing similar to concert and sports tickets, meaning prices will fluctuate constantly based on demand throughout the sales process. And let’s be honest, there’s not many matches where demand will drop.

It’s honestly a sad moment for fans. Previous tournaments had simple pricing models and remained static and consistent and transparent regardless of Host City, stadium, teams, demand, etc.

Ticket Types and Categories Available

Ticket Types Available for Purchase

Single Match Tickets

Available for all 104 matches
All seat categories offered
Most flexible option for specific games

Team Specific Packages (aka “Follow Your Team”)

Includes all 3 group stage matches for chosen team
Does not include playoff/knockout games
Ideal for following one national team

Venue Specific Packages

Ability to watch numerous matches at selected stadium
Includes group stage matches + 1st knockout round
Does NOT include Opening Matches for each Host or anything Quarterfinals or later
See each stadium inclusions below

Seat Categories

The tournament features five seating categories and is very different than previous years. In previous years, it was possible to sit front row with Category 3 (granted, you were right behind the goal, but still) because Categories were based on overall location.

Now, it appears FIFA will add in levers for categorization based on lower vs upper bowl as well.

Category 1: Most expensive – Lower tier premium seats
Category 2: High pricing – Lower and upper tiers
Category 3: Medium pricing – Upper tier
Category 4: Cheapest option – Upper tier, furthest sections
Accessible Seating: Variable pricing – Designated areas for disabilities/limited mobility
Children: What about the children, won’t somebody think of the children?! Read FIFA’s “baby in arms” text (basics are shorter than 34″ tall and younger than 2 years old).

Sales Timeline and Process

Phase 1: Visa Cardholders Only (CURRENT)

Registration: September 10-19, 2025
Purchase Window: October 2025
Exclusive to Visa cardholders
Method: Lottery-based selection system

Phase 2: Lottery 2

Purchase Window: Late October 2025 until before World Cup Draw (Dec 5)
No payment card restrictions
Method: Lottery-based selection system

Phase 3: Post-Draw Sales

Opens: “After December 5, 2025 World Cup Draw”
Method: Lottery-based selection system

Phase 4: First-Come-First-Served

Timing: 2026 (closer to tournament)
Final sales phase for remaining inventory
Method: Chaos. 😁 Every man/woman for themselves. Expect many technical challenges on FIFA’s site.

Venue Package Details by City

You can also find this on FIFA’s FAQ site.

Atlanta

5 Group Stage Matches + Round of 32
Excludes: Round of 16, Semi-final

Boston

5 Group Stage Matches + Round of 32
Excludes: Quarter-final

Dallas

5 Group Stage Matches + Round of 32
Excludes: Round of 32, Round of 16, Semi-final

Guadalajara

4 Group Stage Matches only
No playoff games included

Houston

5 Group Stage Matches + Round of 32
Excludes: Round of 16

Kansas City

4 Group Stage Matches + Round of 32
Excludes: Quarter-final

Los Angeles

4 Group Stage Matches + Round of 32
Excludes: USA Opening Match, Quarter-final

Mexico City

2 Group Stage Matches + Round of 32
Excludes: Opening game, Round of 16

Miami

4 Group Stage Matches + Round of 32
Excludes: Quarter-final, Bronze final

Monterrey

3 Group Stage Matches + Round of 32
No major exclusions

New York/New Jersey

5 Group Stage Matches + Round of 32
Excludes: Round of 16, Final

Philadelphia

5 Group Stage Matches + Round of 16
No major exclusions

San Francisco Bay Area

5 Group Stage Matches + Round of 32
No major exclusions

Seattle

4 Group Stage Matches + Round of 32
Excludes: Round of 16

Toronto

4 Group Stage Matches + Round of 32
Excludes: Canada’s Opening Match

Vancouver

5 Group Stage Matches + Round of 32
Excludes: Round of 16

Ticket Purchase Limits

FIFA has set the following purchase limits and all are listed on their FAQ.

Here are the highlights:

Maximum 40 tickets per household across all matches
Maximum 4 tickets per individual match
Maximum 10 different matches per account
- Note: FIFA does not specify the 10 matches in their own FAQ but we have seen it elsewhere…not sure if FIFA is ignoring or forgetting it so be prepped that this may or may not be true.
You cannot purchase tickets to different matches on the same date.

Resale Rules by Country

United States and Canada

No price caps on FIFA’s official resale platform
Tickets can be resold at any price
Market-driven pricing allowed

Mexico

Face value only resale policy
Separate resale platform for Mexican fans
Cannot profit from ticket resales

Important Venue Package Exclusions

Several major venues exclude significant matches from their packages:

Opening Matches: Los Angeles (USA), Mexico City (Mexico), Toronto (Canada)
Final Match: New York/New Jersey MetLife Stadium
No Knockout Matches: Guadalajara (group stage only)

Key Takeaways for Ticket Buyers

Register early for Phase 1 if you have a Visa card
Consider venue packages for guaranteed multiple matches
Expect price volatility due to dynamic pricing
Review exclusions carefully before purchasing venue packages
Understand resale rules based on your country of residence
Plan for multiple releases of ticket availability and never give up as past tournaments had key match tickets show up on the FIFA platform very late.
Lastly, tickets do NOT guarantee entry into host countries so you’ll need to go through each respective country’s own visa application process

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World Cup 2026 Ticket Essentials: New Pricing, Rules, Categories & Timeline