FIFA’s Plan for Affordable World Cup Tickets Fails to Calm Fans

Seeing the 2026 World Cup in person will be extremely expensive. Tickets for early matches currently range from about $140 to more than $2,700, while the cheapest seat for the final is priced at $4,185. The soccer fan network Football Supporters Europe (FSE) estimates that fans traveling from Europe will spend at least $6,900 to follow their team all the way to the final—nearly five times what it cost during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Those prices are also a far cry from the $21 seats promised by organizers in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. in a 2018 bid document.

After facing backlash over these exorbitant prices, FIFA announced this week that it plans to cap a small portion of seats at $60, but those tickets will make up just 1.6 percent of the total. The move has done little to calm frustrated fans. It is “nothing more than an appeasement tactic,” FSE said in a post on X.

Still, it’s better than nothing. “We take it as a win, but a largely symbolic one,” Ronan Evain, executive director of FSE, told Observer.

How will the $60 seats work?

The $60 tickets will be distributed through the individual soccer associations of participating countries and will be available for all 104 matches of next summer’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.—including the final. Those associations, which are allocated 8 percent of all World Cup tickets, will set aside 10 percent of that allotment for the new low-cost tier.

Each country will decide how to distribute the discounted seats to its most loyal fans. About half of the associations are expected to rely on existing loyalty systems, where supporters earn points for attending home and away matches and backing youth and women’s teams, Evain said. Others may distribute tickets through supporter groups or a lottery.

FIFA, for its part, has defended its pricing by pointing to a variable strategy that adjusts costs “based on a review of demand and availability for each match.”  The governing body also said interest remains strong, noting that 20 million ticket requests have been submitted since the latest sales draw opened on Dec. 11.

Accessible seats not immune to price surges

Fans have also taken issue with the rising cost of accessible tickets for those with disabilities. World Cup tickets are typically divided into four price categories based on seat location. But so far, accessible seats have been restricted to categories one through three. That effectively locks fans with disabilities out of the most affordable tier—a reversal from previous tournaments, FSE said in a letter to FIFA on Dec. 16.

The group also criticized FIFA’s decision to charge for companion tickets, noting that many fans with disabilities cannot attend matches alone. The most affordable options for a combined accessible ticket and companion ticket in the group stage are estimated to run between $280 and $900. In Qatar, by contrast, accessible tickets cost 10 euros (about $12) and included a free companion seat.

“This is clearly the sign of an organization that has lost its mind,” said Evain, who has yet to receive an official response from FIFA on accessible tickets. “I don’t know if it’s an oversight or if it’s pure evil, but it shouldn’t exist.”