The first phase of ticket sales for the highly anticipated 2026 FIFA World Cup games in North America started Wednesday morning.
It’s not just anyone that can buy tickets Wednesday, though, as the early access is through the Visa Presale Draw. The first ticketing phase started at 8 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time and runs until 8 a.m. on Sept. 19.
“Due to the anticipated high demand, FIFA World Cup tickets are released in phases, with the Visa Presale Draw marking the first phase,” FIFA said. “Further ticket sales will be launched in the coming months, giving all fans the opportunity to apply to experience this unprecedented tournament.”
The 2026 World Cup kicks off June 11 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City and runs through July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Games will be played in 16 cities across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
For SoCal residents, there will be eight matches played at SoFi Stadium, including Team USA’s first match of the tournament.
Fans who are part of the Visa Presale Draw will be randomly selected to purchase tickets after creating a FIFA ID. The FIFA ID shows that a person has registered interest in attending a match and also helps fans answer questions about ticketing sale dates and how the ticketing process works.
A FIFA ID must be created to register interest to purchase tickets no matter the ticketing phase.
After the FIFA ID is created, a randomized selection process is done, and successful applicants will be notified via email starting Sept. 29 of a specific date and time slot for them to purchase tickets starting on Oct. 1, officials explained. Once the sales start, tickets for all 104 matches will be available; venue-specific and team-specific tickets will also be made available.
In an attempt to offer the world’s game to more people, some tickets for World Cup group stage matches will start at $60, FIFA officials said. Single tickets to the final, on the other hand, will cost more than $6,500.
Fans who are not eligible to be part of the Visa Presale Draw, were unsuccessful in the draw or want to make additional purchases will be able to do so in subsequent sales phases. The early ticket draw will function similarly to the Visa Presale Draw; a registration window will open on Oct. 27 and time slots for purchase will be available in mid-November and early December. Applicants will be randomly selected and those who make successful entries will be notified as such.
It should be noted that, at this point, we do not know every team that will be playing in the World Cup nor do we know where they will be playing. Thus, registration for the third phase of ticket sales, the random selection draw, begins shortly after most of the groups are picked. During this phase, fans will be able to submit applications for specific matches.
Any remaining tickets can be bought closer to matchday on a first-come, first-serve basis, FIFA said.
Additional tickets, such as supporter tickets for those wanting to sit with others cheering for their team and conditional supporter tickets, which are for those who want to reserve a spot should their team make it out of the group stage, are expected to be available closer to the tournament.
And while FIFA recommends only buying tickets from their official site, they will be launching an official resale platform for eligible ticket holders that looks to safeguard fans against fraudulent resale transactions.
More information about the FIFA World Cup ticketing process can be found here.
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