2026 FIFA World Cup ticket lottery opens, plagued by long waits and frustrated fans
Finally the World Cup is coming to the states, and I was really looking forward to taking in some of the matches. Judging by the ridiculous way FIFA is going about “selling” tickets, I think I’ll be inside in air conditioning watching on television.
The first of several 2026 World Cup ticket sales “phases” recently opened with a lottery exclusive to customers of a top-tier FIFA sponsor, Visa — and, for some eager fans, with a lengthy wait or error messages.
Currently the FIFA World Cup website has hospitality packages on sale at insane costs. (Keep in mind the draw for who will play who has yet to happen.)
As far as single match tickets go, I’m not sure that I quite understand what FIFA is doing. It appears that fans have to apply for the opportunity to purchase tickets.
Of course the corporate sponsors had to get involved and the first round of ticket registration was solely for Visa holders.
Even if a fan is selected to buy tickets now, they won’t know which participating nations they are paying to see. The dates and locations for all 104 games are set, but most matchups are currently TBD vs. TBD. The actual draw will take place in December.
FIFA officials have confirmed that they’ll employ what they call a “variable pricing” strategy, with prices subject to change at any time based on demand. The controversial method, means you’ll almost certainly pay more than $6,700 for a top-tier seat for the July 19 final at East Rutherford, NJ’s MetLife Stadium — around four times the cost at the last final, 2022 in Qatar.
Of course this set up will give FIFA the opportunity to charge more for games featuring the most popular teams, such as Brazil or Argentina.
Dynamic pricing is basically extortion and highway robbery. It smells of greed., We shouldn’t be shocked by this as FIFA’s reputation is pretty bad. To FIFA, it’s all about the money.
What’s insane is that FIFA is, theoretically, a nonprofit organization. Its revenue from the upcoming World Cup is expected to be more than $13 billion. Plus Gianni Infantino, the head of FIFA, receives a salary of around $5 million,
When Infantino became president in 2016, it seemed like a much-needed changing of the guard after the controversies of his predecessor Sepp Blatter’s regime. During Blatter’s tenure, FIFA and its leadership stood accused of everything from fraud and money laundering to bribery and racketeering.
Not a decade later, though, Infantino is regularly seen fawning over shady world leaders, from Russia’s Vladimir Putin, to Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince implicated in the 2018 assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
He’s currently sucking up to Trump and recently visited the Oval Office for a second time..
FIFA tells us their goal is to “grow the game.” At least that was the explanation when Russia won the right to host the 2018 World Cup and the 2022 tournament to Qatar, a tiny Middle Eastern state smaller than Connecticut that had no soccer infrastructure or great history of playing the game. (The entire soccer world had to change its schedules to accommodate Qatar’s Winter World Cup)
You grow the game by making it affordable, not giving the games to countries that Amnesty International cites as having terrible human rights records..”
Since soccer is a global sport, FIFA needs to realize that it’s the fans who support the game. Instead of price gouging the fans, FIFA should make tickets affordable..
Early signs that Trump has the potential to ruin the World Cup:
The U.S. State Department has reportedly declined visa requests for an official Iranian delegation to attend the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is scheduled to be held at the Kennedy Center in D.C. on Dec. 5. The Tehran Times, an English-language Iranian news outlet, reported that the U.S. government has not issued visas for Iran Football Federation President Mehdi Taj, coach Amir Ghalenoei and seven other federation members seeking to attend the draw.
With 11 cities in the USA due to host 78 games between them, with the other 26 being played in Canada and Mexico, Donald Trump, has threatened to remove games from cities such as San Francisco and Seattle, who are apparently “run by radical left lunatics who don’t know what they’re doing”. Trump has also vowed that Chicago “will be safe for the World Cup”, despite the Windy City not being among those slated to host games. With the draw for what promises to be the bigliest tournament ever due to take place in Washington DC on 5 December, Fifa insisted that the president has no jurisdiction to influence where games are played. CONCACAF President, Victor Montagliani stated,. “That’s the beauty of our game, it is bigger than any individual and bigger than any country.”