FIFA releases ‘last-minute’ World Cup tickets, sparking fan outrage

FIFA released new batch of high-priced tickets to every game at 2026 World Cup, leading to soccer fans sharing disgust online.

Published Apr 22, 2026  •  Last updated 7 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks at the Semafor World Economy 2026 summit on April 15, 2026. Getty Images

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FIFA has had some trouble filling rooms as well as reading them.

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The global organization released a new block of “last-minute” tickets to this summer’s World Cup amid reports that sales for several games — including the United States’ opener — have failed to hit their marks.

According to a post on social media site X on Tuesday, “tickets across all 104 matches” were made available for public purchase at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday on “a first-come, first-served basis.”

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Soccer fans weren’t pleased, to say the least. Many users on social media ripped FIFA for creating “fake” demand for the tournament while also ensuring that prices remain high. Others were quick to note that this isn’t FIFA’s first use of the term “last-minute” when it comes to ticket sales this year.

Some also pointed out that many fans who spent their time and hard-earned money buying tickets during earlier rounds of sales should be left feeling slighted by this new release. Most people who purchased the unassigned Category 1 tickets under the impression they would have a chance at prime seats near midfield were placed in less desirable areas near the corners of the field.

“You denied me tickets to 10 matches and now there are suddenly more tickets available … Please explain,” one user replied on X.

“This is your 17th ‘last-minute sale’ because you’re trying to create fake demand and extort fans with exorbitant prices,” another wrote.

“How many rounds of ‘last minute tickets’ will there be? Drop the prices by 80% and they’ll move,” a third user replied.

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Are games sold out?

According to FIFA, more than five million tickets had been sold prior to Wednesday’s latest release, but there are several games that remain far from selling out.

On Tuesday, The Athletic reported that ticket sales for the United States’ World Cup opener against Paraguay are lagging behind other matches set to take place in Los Angeles.

According to information obtained by the outlet that was distributed to local organizers, 40,934 tickets were listed as purchased for that June 12 match compared to 50,661 for the Iran-New Zealand match three days later at SoFi Stadium. The stadium’s capacity, as listed by FIFA, is 69,650 for the 2026 World Cup.

How much do front-row seats cost?

Earlier this month, FIFA created a new category for ticket sales: Front Category 1.

The new category of tickets encompasses premium front-row seats that had previously been zoned in Category 1 — and carry a price tag that is at least double the original cost in some cases.

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This new category of ticket sales is also available to purchase during this new round of sales through FIFA’s official site.

Henry Bushnell of The Athletic reported that this new ‘Front Category 1” had not been advertised or mentioned until now, after tickets began to be assigned to seats last week.

How had ticket categories been assigned?

When FIFA originally launched ticket sales in September 2025 for the World Cup being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S., it did so by selling off unassigned seats in different categories at each stadium. Premium seats in the lower sections of the stadium fell into the most expensive Category 1, with prices set by using FIFA’s “dynamic” ticket pricing plan.

With categories encompassing large areas and many different sections of stadiums, it seemingly became a lottery as to where any given customer could have their seat assigned – with many left fuming and feeling “scammed” after paying top dollar and being slotted into lesser-desired areas of the given category.

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There had been hopes by fans of scoring a potential front-row seat for the match they potentially paid thousands of dollars to attend, but that seemingly has been squashed by FIFA.

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A week after the tickets were assigned, FIFA began selling the new Front Category 1 for at least 20 games, as per The Athletic, as well as Front Category 2 for the first several rows in some sections.

How much are tickets on resale market?

FIFA has already faced heavy criticism over the price of tickets on the resale market.

Tickets for the Canadian men’s national team’s opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina have dramatically increased in price on resale markets, with the most tickets for the June 12 game priced at more than $2,000. As of Wednesday afternoon, the cheapest ticket on Stubhub was going for $1,640 and was seated in Category 3.

Category 4 tickets — the cheap seats, if you will — originally were sold through the FIFA website for around $1,300. Category 1 tickets came with an original price of $3,035 each, but can now be found on StubHub for up to $62,000.

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