FIFA says it has received more than 150 million ticket requests for the 2026 World Cup, underlining unprecedented global demand for the tournament to be staged across the United States,
Canada and Mexico.
The figure was revealed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino during a football event in Dubai. Applications have poured in from more than 200 countries, with demand estimated to be around 30 times greater than the number of tickets available.
According to FIFA, the volume of requests exceeds by more than threefold the total combined attendance of every World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1930.
Infantino said the surge in interest reflects the “global love for football”.
The current ticket sales phase opened on 11 December and will run until 13 January, with tickets allocated through a random draw. It is the first sales window since the group-stage draw on 5 December, which confirmed most teams’ opening-round opponents.
The 2026 World Cup will be the largest in the competition’s history, expanding from 32 to 48 teams. The number of matches will increase from 64 to 104, significantly boosting the overall ticket supply.
Despite this, FIFA has faced criticism over ticket pricing. In response, the organisation has introduced a limited allocation of tickets priced at 60 dollars for fans who register through their national football associations. Photo by Juerg.hug, Wikimedia commons.