FIFA struggles to sell out World Cup matches - including USMNT opener

Tom Weber

• 2 Mar 2026 16:00 CST
• 4 min read

News

FIFA launched a surprise sales window for 2026 World Cup tickets last week in a clear sign that it is struggling to sell out games.

The ticketing process for the upcoming tournament in Canada, Mexico and the USA has been controversial, to say the least. Inflated prices and limited access have disillusioned many supporters who want to be a part of football's greatest spectacle this summer.

FIFA's dynamic pricing model has come in for fierce criticism, with simply attending a game likely to be an investment worth hundreds and thousands of dollars for most fans.

FIFA selected who was eligible to purchase access to matches via lottery, and the $60 tickets it had promised were few and far between. In response to the backlash, it introduced a new ticketing tier capped at $60 in December - but it only made up 1.6% of the available inventory.

The lottery that ended last month was slated to be the final sales window for tickets until the remaining inventory was to be sold on the open market on a first-come, first-served basis in April. However, FIFA surprised potential buyers last week.

FIFA is desperate to sell tickets

On Tuesday, people who had previously unsuccessfully tried to purchase tickets were informed via a cryptic email that they would again have the chance to gain access to games during an upcoming 48-hour window.

The email did not provide much more information, sparking widespread confusion. Furthermore, only certain people received the email, while others were sent an amended version later. Some did not receive an email at all, and it is not clear how FIFA selected the recipients.

Surprisingly, this brief window opened the following day. An even bigger surprise was that, according to The Athletic, tickets to a whopping 64 of the 104 games were available, including the USMNT's opener against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles.

No final or semi-final tickets were available, nor were any for games involving Argentina, England and Mexico. This was a clear sign that FIFA is struggling to get people to open their wallets for less attractive matches. Most of the available tickets were in the two most expensive categories.

Ironically, at the same time, FIFA president Gianni Infantino claimed that "every match is sold out." FIFA has insisted for months that there has been unprecedented demand for games. The reality is that this demand has only been for certain fixtures.

FIFA priced tickets to the US's opener at $2,735 (Category 1) and $1,940 (Category 2). As a result, many fans have elected to attend the significantly cheaper match in Seattle against Australia and the second game at SoFi versus one of the UEFA playoff winners.

Further proof of the lack of demand for the Paraguay game is that ticket prices have remained steady throughout the sales process. By contrast, FIFA has raised prices for almost all other fixtures since its first lottery in October.

Former ticketing executive Barry Kahn told The Athletic: "When you have an organization that’s announced a plan, like FIFA did, and when you deviate from the plan, clearly something is wrong." He is certain that "they have a lot of inventory they need to move."

There is a belief that FIFA will eventually sell out all games, although it is not exactly apparent how they will achieve this unless they lower prices. One thing is clear, though: Infantino and company have drastically overestimated how much people are willing to pay for games.

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