FIFA appeared to be experiencing technical difficulties on Wednesday as it resumed ticket sales for the World Cup after the 48-team roster was finalized.
Football’s governing body did not reveal which competitions and price categories would be available.
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When sales started at 11 a.m. ET, some people who clicked on FIFA’s so-called “last-minute sales phase” were directed into a queue for the “PMA Late Qualifiers Supporter Sales Phase,” which is targeted at fans in the six countries that secured seats on Tuesday.
The wait time to buy FIFA tickets seemed long, with people who queued at the beginning still waiting in line 90 minutes later.
FIFA did not explain why the link misdirection occurred, but said around noon that the link was working normally.
FIFA also stated that not all remaining tickets for the 104 games held in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19 have been on sale, and additional tickets will be released on a rolling basis.
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This is the fifth phase of ticket sales following the Visa pre-sale lottery from September 10 to 19, the advance lottery from October 27 to 31, the random lottery from December 11 to January 13, and the irregular 48-hour ticket sales in late February.
FIFA said this phase will remain open throughout the tournament, marking the first time that specific seat locations will be available for purchase rather than requesting a category of tickets.
FIFA is using dynamic pricing for the tournament, which will be held in 11 cities in the United States, three more in Mexico and two in Canada.
During the month-long sales period following the Dec. 5 drawing, tickets will range from $140 to $8,680. After receiving complaints, FIFA said it would provide each participating national federation with $60 tickets for its most loyal supporters, which could amount to $400-$700 per team per game.
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“FIFA’s adoption of dynamic ticket pricing in 2026 stands in stark contrast to FIFA’s core mission of promoting accessible, inclusive promotion and growth of the global game of soccer,” 69 Democratic members of Congress wrote in a March 10 letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “While host cities collaborate to realize the vision of the largest and most global World Cup in history, the consequences of dynamic pricing will make the 2026 FWC Becoming the most financially exclusive and difficult World Cup to participate in yet.”
FIFA also has its own resale market, charging buyers and sellers a 15% commission.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Congo, Czech Republic, Iraq, Sweden and Türkiye make up the World Cup squad. Fans of teams eliminated on Tuesday, including Italy, Poland, Denmark, Jamaica and Bolivia, can try to resell tickets they have already purchased.
Infantino claimed in January that FIFA had received as many ticket requests as “to host 1,000 World Cups in one go”.
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“This is unique,” he said at the time. “This is incredible.”
It’s unclear whether many of those requests were for seats in the lowest price categories.
Fan groups have raised concerns about the soaring cost of reselling tickets, with one making a formal complaint to the European Commission last month.
Infantino defended FIFA’s move to curtail resale rights, saying the governing body was engaged in legitimate business activities under U.S. law. Some European countries have laws that can restrict resale, requiring tickets to be sold at face value or only by authorized partners of the event organizer.
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