FIFA announced on April 22 that it will release additional World Cup 2026 tickets for sale on April 23 at 11am EDT, covering all 104 matches in Categories 1, 2 and 3, alongside newly introduced premium-priced tiers.
FIFA adds front category pricing amid fan complaints
The governing body introduced a new “front category” this month, leading to online criticism from fans who claimed better seats in their originally purchased categories were withheld and replaced with less favourable assignments.
Ticket prices range from $140 to nearly $11,000
FIFA’s initial December sale offered tickets from $140 for Category 3 in the opening round to $8,680 for the final, later increased to as much as $10,990 when sales resumed on April 1.
Sales lag for early tournament matches
A document shared with local organisers showed 40,934 tickets sold for the US-Paraguay opener on June 12 at SoFi Stadium and 50,661 for the Iran-New Zealand match on April 15, against a projected capacity of about 69,650.
December pricing varied significantly by match
For the US-Paraguay game, FIFA priced tickets at $1,120, $1,940 and $2,735 across categories, while Iran-New Zealand seats were listed at $140, $380 and $450 during the same sale period.
Why did FIFA add new ticket categories?
FIFA has not publicly explained the rationale for the new front category, though it followed fan backlash over perceived seat allocation issues after the December sale.
Will more tickets be released after April 23?
The source does not indicate whether further ticket releases are planned beyond the April 23 sale for Categories 1–3 and the new front tier.
