Over 500 Million Requests Submitted for FIFA World Cup Tickets

FIFA – (Special Correspondent / Web Desk)

FIFA announced on Wednesday that it has received over 500 million ticket requests for this year’s World Cup, despite ongoing concerns about the high cost of attending the tournament. Fans from all 211 FIFA member nations and territories submitted applications for the event, which will be held across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The ticket request period, which operated as a lottery system, closed on Tuesday. FIFA confirmed that fans will be notified of the results “no earlier than February 5.” Outside of the host countries, the strongest demand came from Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, and Colombia.

Question: How many of these 500 million requests are from bots and fake accounts set up by ticket resellers flooding FIFA’s website? Half? 3/4? 95%? pic.twitter.com/WSHuMLchnW

— Ken Bensinger (@kenbensinger) January 14, 2026

The most sought-after match was Colombia vs. Portugal in Miami on June 27, followed by Mexico vs. South Korea in Guadalajara on June 18, and the World Cup final in New Jersey on July 19.

“Receiving half a billion ticket requests in just over a month is more than just numbers – it’s a global celebration of football,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “I want to thank and congratulate fans worldwide for this incredible response.”

“Knowing how much this tournament means to people around the world, our only regret is that we cannot welcome every fan inside the stadiums.”

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FIFA has faced sharp criticism over its ticket pricing strategy for the 48-team tournament, with fan groups branding the cost as “extortionate” and “astronomical.”

Football Supporters Europe (FSE) said ticket prices were almost five times higher than at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

Those criticisms prompted FIFA to introduce a new category of cut-price tickets in December set at 60 US dollars (51 euros) each.