FIFA releases another batch of 2026 World Cup tickets

Article content

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but FIFA is releasing a brand-new batch of tickets for the 2026 World Cup – which kicks off in just over a month.

Article content

The global organization released a new block of tickets to this summer’s tournament as FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been forced to defend the high ticket prices for the event.

Article content

Article content

On Wednesday, FIFA posted on social media that a “limited release of tickets” would go on sale Thursday at 12 p.m. ET.

Article content

Article content

The newest block of seats to be released comes just days after Infantino defended the heavily criticized high prices for tickets to the tournament.

Speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference on Tuesday, Infantino essentially argued that the prices that FIFA set should be considered a bargain compared to U.S. college and other “top-tier” events.

“In reality, 25% of group stage tickets are available for less than $300 US,” he said. “In the U.S., you can’t attend a college game, let alone a top-tier professional event, for under $300. And this is the World Cup!

“We are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world, so we have to apply market rates.

“In the U.S., it is permitted to resell tickets as well, so if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price.”

Donald Trump says he wouldn’t pay FIFA ticket prices

It seems that even U.S. President Donald Trump, who has a close relationship with Infantino, thinks that prices might be too high.

Article content

In an interview with the New York Post, Trump – who is worth a reported $6.5 billion – said that he wouldn’t pay to see Team USA’s opening game against Paraguay, which has its cheapest seat listed at $1,565.

“I did not know that number (the USMNT’s opening match prices),” Trump told the outlet. “I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you.”

Are tickets available for games in Toronto?

As of Thursday, several tickets remain on sale for the Canadian men’s national team opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 at BMO Field.

In the ‘Front Category 1’ category – more on that later – tickets remained on sale for $4,750 while front-row seats were priced at $1,575 each for the match between Ghana and Panama.

Each game that is set to be hosted at BMO Field had tickets up for sale as part of the latest release with the cheapest being a few in Category 2 in the upper deck priced at $530 for the match between Senegal and Iraq.

What are Front Category 1 seats?

Last month, FIFA created a new category for ticket sales: Front Category 1.

Article content

The new category of tickets encompasses premium front-row seats that had previously been zoned in Category 1 – and carry a price tag that is at least double the original cost in some cases.

This new category of ticket sales is also available to purchase during this new round of sales through FIFA’s official site.

Henry Bushnell of The Athletic reported that this new ‘Front Category 1” had not been advertised or mentioned until now, after tickets began to be assigned to seats last week.

How had ticket categories been assigned?

When FIFA originally launched ticket sales in September 2025 for the World Cup being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S., it did so by selling off unassigned seats in different categories at each stadium. Premium seats in the lower sections of the stadium fell into the most expensive Category 1, with prices set by using FIFA’s “dynamic” ticket pricing plan.

With categories encompassing large areas and many different sections of stadiums, it seemingly became a lottery as to where any given customer could have their seat assigned – with many left fuming and feeling “scammed” after paying top dollar and being slotted into lesser-desired areas of the given category.

Article content

There had been hopes by fans of scoring a potential front-row seat for the match they potentially paid thousands of dollars to attend, but that seemingly has been squashed by FIFA.

A week after the tickets were assigned, FIFA began selling the new Front Category 1 for at least 20 games, as per The Athletic, as well as Front Category 2 for the first several rows in some sections.

Article content