FIFA has reopened ticket sales for the 2026 World Cup, leading to a substantial increase in prices. The most expensive tickets for the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, now cost $10,990, up from previous prices.

Ticket Price Increases Across Categories

Category 2 tickets for the final have risen to $7,380, an increase from $5,575. Category 3 tickets are now priced at $5,785, compared to $4,185 previously. As of Wednesday evening, tickets were available for 17 of the 72 group stage matches, but none for the knockout stages.

Dynamic Pricing and Availability

FIFA is employing dynamic pricing for the tournament, which will be hosted in 11 U.S. cities, three in Mexico, and two in Canada. The availability of tickets varies significantly by match. For example, the U.S. opener against Paraguay on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, has only the highest-priced tickets ($2,735) remaining, unchanged from December.

Tickets for the tournament opener between Mexico and Saudi Arabia on June 11 in Mexico City are now $2,985, up from $2,355. Canada’s first game on June 12 against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto has tickets available for $2,240, an increase from $2,170.

Sales Issues and Future Releases

The reopening of sales was met with technical difficulties. Some users were incorrectly directed to a sales phase intended for supporters of nations that recently qualified. FIFA stated the links were corrected around noon ET but did not provide an explanation for the initial misdirection.

FIFA also announced that not all remaining tickets are being released at once, and additional tickets will be made available on a rolling basis. This is the fifth phase of ticket sales, following previous presales and draws from September 2023 to February 2024.

New Seat Selection Option

This phase marks the first time fans can purchase tickets for specific seat locations, rather than requesting tickets within a category. Previously, tickets were priced between $140 and $8,680 during the sales phase following the December draw.

Concerns Over Accessibility

Sixty-nine Democratic members of Congress expressed concerns in a March 10 letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, stating that dynamic pricing makes the 2026 World Cup “the most financially exclusionary and inaccessible to date.” FIFA has committed to making $60 tickets available to participating national federations for their loyal supporters, with an estimated 400-700 tickets per team per match.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino noted in January that ticket requests were equivalent to “the request for 1,000 years of World Cups at once.” Fan groups have raised concerns about the high cost of resold tickets, with one group filing a formal complaint with the European Commission last month. Infantino defended FIFA’s cut of resales as a legal commercial activity.