CNN
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With the 2026 FIFA World Cup just six months away, fans should be excited to go see their national team play in North America next summer. But with the latest phase of ticket sales starting this week, attending could cost much more than expected: a ticket to the final is already over $4,000.
These prices have sparked outrage from fans around the world, as some of football’s most loyal fans have been excluded from the tournament due to the high prices.
The wave of criticism has come after FIFA allocated tickets to the national associations of participating teams on Thursday, in what the governing body calls the Participating Member Association (PMA) allocation.
Basically, it allows individual federations to sell tickets to their most loyal fans, who are classified through fan groups or loyalty programs.
Many of these passionate fans, who have been following their team for years, now face a dilemma: shell out the money or watch the game from home and save on their bank account.
Football Supporters Europe (FSE), a group representing fans’ interests, said it was “shocked by the exorbitant ticket prices imposed by FIFA on the most loyal fans”.
He called on FIFA to stop ticket sales “until a solution is found that respects the tradition, universality and cultural importance of the World Cup.”
According to the FSE statement and the information they have, a loyal fan would have to pay at least US$6,900 to follow their team from the first game of the group stage to the final. The FSE claims that this is “almost five times more” than during the previous World Cup in Qatar.
Fans not only have to worry about ticket prices, but also travel and accommodation costs.
The fear is that those who have dedicated years to following their national teams will not be present at the tournament, losing out to those who can afford to pay what is necessary. That could have a domino effect on the atmosphere of games in Mexico, the United States and Canada next year.
Take the fans in England for example.
The English Football Association (FA) shared the pricing structure with its most loyal fan groups on Thursday, with the cheapest ticket for England’s debut match against Croatia costing $265.
If England reach the final, the cheapest ticket would cost fans US$4,185, and the most expensive, US$8,680.
To make things even more complicated for fans, they are expected to pay for tickets in early 2026.
The Football Supporters Association (FSA), which represents football fans in the UK and Wales, said the prices were “too high for many fans”.
“Everything we feared about the direction FIFA wants to take football has been confirmed; (FIFA president) Gianni Infantino only sees fan loyalty as something that can be exploited for profit,” the FSA added.
FIFA has already launched two phases of ticket sales, but both were before the draw and match schedule were confirmed earlier this month. This means it’s the first time fans can request tickets for games they know their team will play.
The governing body has long boasted that this will be an accessible World Cup for fans, and has confirmed that there will be four categories of tickets, with the cheapest being US$60 for group stage matches.
However, those cheaper tickets have not been made available to national federations, meaning that loyal fans will have to pay more to ensure they see their team play.
CNN Sports has contacted FIFA for comment but has not yet received a response.
Fans who do not qualify for PMA allocation can also apply for individual match tickets through the random draw, which also opened on Thursday.
For the first time in World Cup history, there will be no fixed price for group stage matches, but rather each match will be priced according to demand. This means that fans from different countries will pay different prices for matches in the same stage of the tournament.
“This is a monumental betrayal of World Cup tradition, which ignores the contribution of fans to the spectacle it represents,” FSE added.
With fans being the lifeblood of football, pressure is already mounting on FIFA to make next year’s World Cup more accessible to all.
