World Cup ticket guide: are they for sale? How do I get one? How much are they?
The next World Cup will be co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico and will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
It will be the first tournament with 48 teams, an increase from the previous number of 32, meaning there will be more matches than ever: 104 in total.
The tournament is still a ways away, so ticket details are scarce, but here's what we know so far.
Where are the matches?
The World Cup will take place in sixteen cities in three countries, more than any other tournament.
Three of these locations are in Mexico: Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City.
Two others are on both coasts of Canada: Vancouver and Toronto.
The remaining 11 are in the US: Miami, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, Kansas City, Dallas and New York City.
The American list indicates the nearest major city to each stadium. Some locations are in lesser-known nearby settlements, such as East Rutherford, New Jersey for New York and Santa Clara for San Francisco.
Akron Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico (Sergio Navarrete/Getty Images)
How does the tournament work?
Since 1998, World Cups have had 32 teams, which allows for some nice symmetry, but this one is bigger and 48 teams means a slightly more complex format is needed.
The tournament used to have eight groups of four teams, in which each country played against each other once. The top two from each group then progress to four knockout stages: a round of 16, then the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
The US, Canada and Mexico all qualify automatically. The remaining 45 slots will be filled through qualifiers, which will take place separately on each continent.
In 2026 there will still be four teams in a group and the top two will still advance to the next phase, but there will be twelve groups instead of eight.
And the best eight third-placed teams – out of twelve – in the groups will also advance, a similar format to the European Championships (with 24 teams).
Thirty-two teams will progress to the knockout stages, which means an additional knockout round, before the tournament continues from the round of 16, as in previous tournaments.
Where are the biggest games?
The US, Canada and Mexico will play their three group matches in their home countries.
Mexico City's Azteca Stadium, which hosted the 1970 and 1986 World Cup finals, will host the opening match of the tournament. The US will host a total of 78 matches, while Canada and Mexico will host 13 each.
All quarter-finals and both semi-finals will take place in the US, along with the final. The quarterfinals are in Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and Kansas City, while the semifinals are in Dallas and Atlanta.
The 23rd World Cup final will take place on July 19, 2026 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on the outskirts of New York City.
These stadiums have been split into three regions, west, central and east, in an effort to minimize travel for fans. Nevertheless, the distances within the regions are enormous, with Kansas City and Mexico City (2,200 kilometers apart) in the same region, as well as Toronto and Miami (1,239 kilometers apart).
(Yuki Iwamura/AFP via Getty Images)
Are tickets for sale?
No.
With more than two years to go before the tournament kicks off, there is little public information about tickets.
A page on the FIFA website This allows people to simply register their details to receive information about tickets when they become available. The Athletics contacted tournament organizers for comment.
How does the ticketing process work?
We don't know for sure, but looking at previous World Cups and similar events such as the European Championships, it is possible to make some good guesses.
Major tournament tickets are essentially split into three categories.
Firstly, tickets are allocated to affiliated associations – the two countries playing against each other in a particular match. These are generally given to supporters based on loyalty, for example by following points accrued by following the country in qualifying matches.
How easy it is to obtain these varies greatly from country to country; it will be in high demand in host countries, but easier to find for far away countries with less traveling following.
The second category is the tickets given to sponsors and other members of what FIFA likes to call the 'football family'.
This doesn't just mean VIPs in glitzy hospitality boxes. For last year's Champions League final in Istanbul, only around 40,000 fans attended to see fans of Manchester City and Inter Milan. The remaining 35,000 went to sponsors and all kinds of other people with ties to UEFA. A small number of these may end up in the hands of regular fans through tickets and giveaways.
As the tournament progresses and the games become more glamorous, demand from sponsors and other 'neutral' supporters will increase.
The third is the rest. These are the tickets that the public can buy without being a member of any country's loyalty program or part of the football family.
How are these general sales tickets allocated?
We don't know for sure, but we can watch how Germany, the host of this summer's European Championship, distributes the tickets.
There were two voting phases where people could choose to purchase multiple tickets in four different categories. Cheaper tickets are generally more in demand, so it's probably easier to get a ticket by voting in a more expensive category.
UEFA has not released any details about further ticket sales. Still, there will likely be a limited number of tickets on general sale between now and the tournament starting in June, likely for the matches featuring less glamorous teams in larger stadiums.
The demand for tickets in Germany is extremely high for several reasons.
(Rob Pinney/Getty Images)
Firstly, attending live football matches is a big part of German culture, so demand from locals is high.
Secondly, the tournament is the only European Championship or World Cup in Western Europe taking place between 2016 and 2028, with the exception of Euro 2020, which took place across the continent but saw travel severely restricted due to Covid-19.
This means that large numbers of football fans across Europe want tickets to Germany.
It remains to be seen how big the demand for the 2026 World Cup will be, especially in cities like Kansas City and Houston, which are not normally associated with football – but things are changing quickly in the US on that front.
How much do World Cup tickets cost?
We don't know yet, but we can look at a precedent.
It is often difficult to give a definitive answer to this question because tournament organizers often sell tickets at low prices, which in reality are very difficult to obtain, with most fans paying much more.
Analysis by German sports consultancy Keller Sports from 2022 found that an average ticket for the World Cup in Qatar was £286, rising to £684 for the final. This was an increase of 46 percent compared to the tournament in Russia in 2018.
With the exception of limited view tickets and a special category available only to Qatari residents, group stage tickets ranged in price from 40 Riyals ($11) to 800 Riyals ($213).
This prize steadily increased in price as the tournament progressed, with final tickets costing between 750 Riyals ($200) and 5,850 Riyals ($1,560).
Tickets may also be available on secondary resale sites where prices are likely to be much higher.
These types of platforms are often risky to use in Europe as football organizations do not work with them due to deeply ingrained cultural norms at very high ticket prices.
But in the US, this taboo doesn't exist and it was perfectly possible to buy a Super Bowl ticket through a credible reseller – as long as you have $10,000 to spare.
It remains to be seen what approach the World Cup will take.
How much do tickets cost compared to the Super Bowl and other major events?
The cheapest tickets for this year's Super Bowl sold directly by the NFL cost about $2,000, far higher than for any major football game.
Tickets changed hands for about five times as much on the secondary market.
Tickets for the final will likely reach similar, eye-watering prices, but if you're not too picky about which match you go to, you'll likely be able to get tickets for early World Cup matches at much more affordable prices.
Is it possible to attend every match at the World Cup?
Football YouTuber Theo Ogden, better known as Thogden, attended every match of the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, the first person in history to do so at a tournament.
This was possible due to Qatar's small geographical size, although he did have to miss half of some matches to fit them all in.
But there's absolutely no chance of anyone repeating the same feat in 2026.
Over a manic 17 days, from June 11 to June 27, the entire group stage will be completed – all 72 matches of it. The final four of those days will feature six matches each, spanning the entire continent of North America.
Because the distances between the stadiums are large, fans will have to plan their matches carefully.
(Top photo: Charly Tribelleau/AFP via Getty Images)