Football fans have accused FIFA of ‘monumental betrayal’ after the latest trophies World Cup The tickets started circulating on Thursday.
The governing body allocates 8% of tickets to national associations for matches involving their team, to sell to the most loyal fans.
And a list published by the German Football Federation revealed that prizes ranged from $180 to $700 for various group stage matches. The lowest price for the final was $4,185 and the highest was $8,680.
These group stage prices are very different from FIFA’s claims that $60 worth of tickets would be available, while US soccer officials’ goal in bidding for the tournament seven years ago was to offer hundreds of thousands of $21 seats during the opening stages of the matches.
Fan organization Football Supporters Europe (FSE) described the current prices as ‘excessive’.
“This is a monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup, ignoring the contribution of supporters to the spectacle that it is,” the organization said in a statement.
The English Football Association shared pricing information with the England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC) on Thursday evening, showing that if a fan bought a ticket for every match up to and including the final, it would cost just over $7,000.
FIFA said in September that tickets released through its website would initially range from $60 for group stage matches to $6,730 for the final. But those prices are subject to change, as it will be using dynamic prices for the first time during the World Cup.
FIFA tickets are available in four categories, with the best seats in category 1.
In the price list published by the German Federation, there were only three categories.
The lowest priced ticket was $180 for Germany’s opening match against Curacao in Houston. The lowest price for the semi-final was $920 going up to $1,125.
The FSE called on FIFA to immediately halt ticket sales through national associations “until a solution is found that respects the tradition, universality and cultural significance of the World Cup.”
The Associated Press approached FIFA for comment.
Final stage
FIFA launched its third phase of widespread ticket sales on Thursday, with fans now able to register for specific matches for the first time via the ‘Random Selection Draw’.
Following on from last week draw for the 2026 tournamentco-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, an updated schedule has been published.
That means fans know when and where players like Lionel Messi and Argentina will play. Previous lottery ballots were blind as the qualifying period had not even ended and the draw had yet to take place.
Now the participating countries have been placed in groups, with their trajectory determined by the tournament. For example Messi and Christiano Ronaldo could meet in the quarter-finals in Kansas City if both Argentina and Portugal top their respective groups.
Not that fans are guaranteed tickets to the games they sign up for.
The draw started on December 11 at 11am ET (4pm GMT) and closes on January 13, 2026.
FIFA says ticket applications can be submitted at any time during this period and the time of entry will not affect the chances of success. Fans can apply via the FIFA website for up to four tickets per household per match and up to 40 tickets throughout the tournament.
Fans need a FIFA ID to request tickets and can choose which matches and prize category they want to register for.
Successful applicants will be notified by email in February and automatically charged.
Prices
The last time the US hosted the World Cup in 1994, prices ranged from $25 to $475. In Qatar, 2022 prices ranged from about $70 to $1,600 when ticket details were announced.
Tickets for the final at MetLife Stadium on July 19 are already costing more than $11,000 on secondary resale sites.
FIFA has also set up its own resale platform for this tournament, where it charges a 15% fee based on the total resale price.
FIFA said closer to the tournament, remaining tickets will go on general sale on a first-come, first-served basis.
No time frame was revealed for the release of the remaining tickets.
AP football: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
James Robson is present https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.
