Football’s world governing body, FIFA, has announced that it received more than 500 million ticket requests for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, underscoring massive global interest in the tournament despite widespread criticism over ticket prices.
In a statement released on Wednesday, January 14, FIFA disclosed that fans from all 211 of its member associations submitted applications during the initial ticket lottery phase for the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The application window for the first round of ticket requests closed on Tuesday. FIFA said applicants will be notified of the outcome of their requests no earlier than February 5.
According to the global football body, demand was strongest outside the host nations from countries including Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Colombia.
FIFA revealed that the most sought-after fixture was Colombia’s Group-stage encounter with Portugal, scheduled for June 27 in Miami. This was followed by Mexico’s Group match against South Korea in Guadalajara on June 18, while the World Cup final, slated for July 19 in New Jersey, also attracted significant interest.
Reacting to the overwhelming demand, FIFA President Gianni Infantino described the response as historic.
“Half a billion ticket requests in just over a month is more than demand — it’s a global statement,” Infantino said. “I would like to thank and congratulate football fans everywhere for this extraordinary response.”
He added that while FIFA is encouraged by the enthusiasm, it is impossible to accommodate every fan. “Knowing how much this tournament means to people around the world, our only regret is that we cannot welcome every fan inside the stadiums,” he said.
The announcement comes amid ongoing criticism of FIFA’s ticket pricing for the expanded 48-team World Cup. Supporters’ groups have described the prices as excessively high, with Football Supporters Europe noting that some tickets cost nearly five times more than those for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In response to the backlash, FIFA introduced a new category of lower-priced tickets in December, priced at 60 US dollars (about 51 euros), aimed at improving accessibility for fans.