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≡ FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 ≡
“We have six to seven million tickets on sale and in 15 days we received 150 million ticket requests. So, 10 million ticket requests every single day. It shows how powerful the World Cup is.
“In the almost 100 years of the World Cup, FIFA has sold 44 million tickets in total. So, in two weeks we could have filled 300 years of World Cups. Imagine that. This is absolutely crazy.”
That’s FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI), speaking at the World Sports Summit in Dubai on Monday (29th), with the federation posting a release which added:
“At the halfway point of the ongoing Random Selection Draw ticketing phase, the FIFA World Cup 2026 is already breaking records as over 150 million ticket requests have been submitted to date by fans from over 200 countries.
“The outcome of the current phase that opened on Thursday, 11 December 2025 means the FIFA World Cup 2026 is oversubscribed over 30 times based on verified individual credit card numbers submitted with each ticket application. The demand also represents 3.4 times more than the overall number of spectators who have attended the 964 matches that make up all 22 editions of the competition combined since 1930.”
In terms of the sales logistics going forward, the post explained:
“The Random Selection Draw ticketing phase remains open until Tuesday, 13 January 2026 at 11:00 ET (17:00 CET), and the timing of a ticket request within this window does not affect the chances of success.
“Fans can enter the draw and find full details at FIFA.com/tickets. Following the closing of the current phase, a draw will take place thus giving all fans equal chances of success. Those who are unsuccessful will have the opportunity to secure their seats during the subsequent sales phases as additional tickets are made available.”
FIFA has come in for withering criticism for the pricing of the tickets, which have soared far above any expectations, and with FIFA using dynamic pricing to try and capture as much of the actual match-to-match value as possible; in the past, the margin between the original value of a ticket and the eventual market value has gone to re-sellers. Not this time.
A very small number of $60 tickets are being made available to national federations to sell to their support groups, but the cost is what the market will bear. So far, FIFA is soaking in revenue beyond its dreams.
And FIFA never fails to mention:
“As a not-for-profit organisation, FIFA reinvests the revenue it generates from the FIFA World Cup to fuel the growth of men’s, women’s and youth football throughout the 211 FIFA Member Associations. FIFA expects to reinvest over 90% of its budgeted investments for the 2023-2026 cycle back into the game, with the aim of significantly boosting the development of football around the world.”
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