WARMINGTON: City plans to charge for fan fest despite FIFA contract saying it should be free

While Mayor Olivia Chow put forward a motion to ensure some tickets are free, the agreement says World Cup fan events are supposed to be without charge

Get the latest from Joe Warmington straight to your inbox

Published Apr 15, 2026  •  4 minute read

Temporary bleacher seating is installed to add extra capacity near the regular stands at BMO Field in Toronto, ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup. BMO Field will host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Photo by Cole Burston /Getty Images

While organizers contemplate charging admission to experience the non-stadium magic of what’s considered the world’s biggest sporting event, a contract between FIFA and the city of Toronto clearly states World Cup Fan Festivals are intended to be free.

Article content

On Page 55 of the agreement, it states that “it is intended that the FIFA Fan Fest will take place in every host city of the competition, including in the Host city, on the basis of the following parameters:” That they take “place on each day of the competition” and are “allowing entry free of charge to the spectators” while “providing a live broadcast of all matches, offering food and beverage and merchandise availability” and “staged within a fenced and secured area.”

Article content

Article content

Toronto has been considering selling tickets at various price points — from VIP zones to regular admission — something not included in the wording of the agreement.

With an amended motion at her executive committee meeting on Wednesday, Mayor Olivia Chow kicked the ball down the road.

The contract between FIFA and Toronto states fan fest is supposed to free

The mayor’s motion to ask organizers to add some free tickets was carried. Still, there were many loose ends that came out of questioning by Councillors Josh Matlow and Brad Bradford.

From free for a family of five to $50

What changed was the news in a staff report of a proposal to no longer have a free fan festival at Fort York and The Bentway during the same time as the six World Cup games in Toronto in June and, instead, implement a $10 per-person charge. Suddenly, a free event for a family of five went from zero to $50.

Article content

Article content

Canadian taxpayers are on the hook already for $380 million to put on these games.

“The whole point of a fan festival is that it belongs to the city — all of it, not just the people who can afford a ticket,” Bradford said. “We should be showing the world what this city is capable of, not nickel-and-diming our own residents for a party we promised would be free.”

He called on the mayor “to honour the original commitment and keep the fan festival free for all Torontonians.”

And Chow responded. Partially.

Article content

She put forward a three-point amendment that, while not making the fan fest entirely free, would allow some free tickets to be distributed through marketing companies and community groups. The mayor’s motion asks city council to “direct the executive director of FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat to create a free general admission ticket category to Fan Fest.”

It should have been this way from the beginning.

11,000 free tickets for each day, or over 22 days?

The second part of the mayor’s motion asked council to have the executive director “report directly to the April 22, 23 and 24, 2026 meeting of city council with details on the planned free community access to fan fest including the approximately 11,000 free tickets being provided to community groups.”

It seems that what they are doing is not changing zones that could range from $10 to $300, but adding some free tickets into the mix.

The third part of Chow’s motion asked that “city council direct the executive director” of FIFA 2026 to “seek out private sponsorship to offset any costs incurred in expanding free access to fan fest.”

Article content

The city is hoping fan fest will generate $25 million.

Toronto City Councillor for Beaches-East York Brad Bradford is seen here posing with a composite softball bat that he usually keeps in his vehicle for playing recreation softball – as a parent of two young children, he keeps another bat in his bedroom to protect his family if needed – on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. Photo by Jack Boland /Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network

“This is more scrambling and flip-flopping from Mayor Chow,” Bradford said. “She made a promise, she broke her word, now she’s backtracking yet again. Will all tickets be free, or just some of them? Torontonians deserve clear answers from the mayor.”

Bradford added “for a venue that will hold 20,000 people at a time, offering 500 free tickets per day is a joke. You shouldn’t need to win the lottery to enjoy the games in Toronto.”

The city of Toronto’s media office said the “FIFA Fan Festival ticketing model, which is subject to Toronto City Council approval, is designed as a planning and safety tool to ensure a high-quality, equitable experience for all attendees” and “prioritizes broad, inclusive access while using low-cost paid admission to responsibly manage daily attendance and prevent overcrowding.”

It added the “proposed general admission tickets would be $10, plus a service fee, with a portion of tickets reserved to support equitable access for community groups and charitable organizations. A motion at executive committee today has recommended that staff report back to City Council with additional details on expanded free community access and potential sponsorship opportunities to offset any costs incurred in expanding free access.”

Article content

Read More

1. 

   WARMINGTON: Only in Toronto could 'free' World Cup fan fest now come with cost

2. 

   Did soccer fans get scammed? FIFA changes World Cup ticket categories for games in Toronto

3. 

   City of Toronto’s experts fear World Cup floods: Documents

Chow places some blame on police chief

But even if it is decided to create 11,000 free tickets over the 22 days, that’s much different than having an area where people can come and go from with their families without the burden of going through obtaining an online ticket that may be scooped up quickly and potentially resold on a secondary market.

As she has done before, Chow shifted some of the blame toward Police Chief Myron Demkiw.

Article content

Said Chow: “The original intention, I think, was no tickets, free entry and then the chief and all the security folks, whether it’s RCMP or Chief of Police, lectured everyone and said ‘thou shall not do it that way because you are just asking for trouble because if you have 30,000 people showing, and you run out of tickets, you have 10,000 very angry people in and around that area” and you may end up with a “a gigantic mess on your hands.”

While Chow said this is why it ended up becoming “a ticketed event,” Toronto Police spokesperson Nadine Ramadan said the “Toronto Police Service does not make decisions about Fan Fest.”

Perhaps the chief can issue somebody a red card? Somebody should.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

Article content