FIFA has announced massive ticket demand in the recent sales of tickets in the 2026 world cup with five million requests being registered within the first 24 hours. The magnitude of interest shows the attraction of the largest event in football across the world despite criticisms on the escalating cost of tickets.
The 2026 world cup running between 11 June and 19 July will be historic because it will be the first world cup to have 48 participants. The tournament will be hosted in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, which will increase the territory of the tournament and viewers. FIFA also noted that more than 200 countries sought their tickets via FIFA.com, which indicates how a global event was.
The demand explosion has not been without controversy however. Football Supporters Europe (FSE) has been very vocal on the pricing strategy adopted by FIFA terming it as extortionate. The association says that the prices have already increased to a maximum of 5 times the 2022 world cup in Qatar and that it is likely that ordinary fans will be priced out of personal attendance. Even FSE has requested a national team sales freeze pending a pricing issue.
The backlash has still prompted demand due to a number of high profile group stage fixtures. The highest demand so far is Colombia vs. Portugal at Miami on 27 June. The other games that are popular are Brazil vs Morocco in New York/New Jersey, Mexico vs South Korea in Guadalajara, Ecuador vs Germany in New York/New Jersey and Scotland vs Brazil in Miami.
FIFA also provided information on ticket requests origin. The international demand is followed by Colombia, England, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, and Scotland. The good performance of Scotland is indicative of the expectation of their first world cup in 28 years.
Random Selection Draw period is still open until 13 January. FIFA has emphasized that there is no correlation between the time of application and the opportunities of selection because fans are waiting to know one of the most anticipated tournaments in football.
