2026 World Cup ticket prices increase to record levels, with final costing nearly $11,000

Suraj Radia

• Updated: 2 Apr 2026 10:00 CDT
• 3 min read

News

Costs for supporters at the 2026 World Cup continue to rise after the first open sale of tickets showed Fifa charging nearly $11,000 to attend the final of the tournament.

Prices have gone up since the tournament draw in December, which had tickets for the final topping out at $8,680 and the new total is thought to be the most expensive general admission ever to a football match.

In comparison, the most expensive tickets for the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar were priced at around $1,600, while the bid book by hosts United States, Mexico and Canada claimed the maximum charge would be $1,550.

Fifa has never released its pricing structure but a ‘dynamic pricing’ method is used which prices change at each sales point depending on previous demand.

Tickets were listed on Wednesday for the final and for 17 of the group stage matches after the 48 teams that qualified for the tournament were finalised this week.

The sales were hampered by technical issues and glitches, while Fifa also did not announce which games and price categories would be available, leaving a huge scramble for tickets and an overload of customers trying to access the portal.

Historical demand leads to issues and complaints over Fifa ticket procedures

The World Cup, which begins June 11, will feature in 16 cities across North America, with 78 of the 104 matches being played in the United States, including the final on July 19 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Fifa have defended their pricing structure as something that ‘reflects the existing market practice for major entertainment and sporting events’ and pointed to the extraordinary demand for tickets as a reason for the costs.

It was revealed in January that more than 500 million requests had been made during the month-long application window at the start of the year, with two million tickets having been sold in October and November before the schedule was set.

The prices were also recently the subject of a formal complaint at the European Commission by fan group Football Supporters Europe, with Fifa coming under fire for abusing its ‘monopoly position to impose excessive ticket prices and opaque and unfair purchasing conditions on fans’.

Tickets will continue to be sold throughout the tournament on a rolling basis, while a resale platform will be opened this week, in which Fifa will collect 15% from both the buyer and the seller.

The FootballTransfers app is available on the Apple App Store. Download here:

•App Store