5 million requests for tickets to the 2026 World Cup matches

FIFA said on Friday that it had received five million requests for tickets to attend the 2026 World Cup matches in the first 24 hours of the latest sales phase, despite fan groups’ protests over their high prices..

FIFA explained that fans from more than 200 countries and regions have submitted requests through its website to reserve seats in the first edition in which 48 teams will participate, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19 next..

The European Football Fans’ Organization on Thursday called on FIFA to immediately stop selling national team quotas, and accused the federation of imposing “exorbitant” prices that threaten to deprive ordinary fans of attending the tournament..

The fans’ organization said that ticket prices have increased five-fold compared to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The early demand is due to anticipated group stage matches, most notably the Colombia vs. Portugal match in Miami on June 27, which received the largest turnout so far during the random draw period..

In second place comes the Brazil vs. Morocco match (New York/New Jersey, June 13), then the Mexico vs. Republic of Korea (Wadi El Hajar, June 18), Ecuador vs. Germany (New York/New Jersey, June 25), and Scotland vs. Brazil (Miami, June 24).

After the three host countries, the countries most in demand for tickets were Colombia, England, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Scotland, Germany, Australia, France, and Panama..

FIFA said that the large turnout from South American and Central American fans reflects the interest that the tournament has aroused among fans of the Americas, while Scotland fans are excited to attend its first participation in the World Cup in 28 years..

The random lottery phase continues until next January 13 at (17:00 Central European Time), with FIFA confirming that the timing of submitting the application during that period does not affect the chances of success.