The 2026 World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada is less than six months away. Fifa’s ticketing process has been met with demand and controversy. Security concerns for fans traveling to the US have risen.
We asked readers to share their experiences of buying World Cup tickets – or deciding not to. These are some of the stories we received.
‘The price was high but that’s reality for North American sports’
When President Trump placed aggressive tariffs on Canadian exports, I completely swore off travel to the United States. So, when Fifa selected me during the “Domestic Exclusivity” phase, I leapt at the opportunity to buy tickets to a match in Canada. Each step of the online process was somewhat confusing, including a counter-clockwise circular countdown with imperceptibly slow movement and multiple login requests. Nevertheless, after a 90-minute wait, I was able to purchase tickets for my family to Canada’s last group game. They cost $270 (Canadian) each. The price was high, but that’s just the reality for North American sports today. There are tickets at that price and above for every NFL or NHL game. The price of the hotel I booked outside Vancouver was far more shocking. John, Winnipeg, Canada
‘They’re not getting a cent of my money’
I went to the World Cup in Germany in 2006 when I lived in the UK, and always wanted to go to another in my lifetime. I now live in Australia, and being conscious of the fact that I’d be receiving a decent tax rebate from the Aussie government, had decided to spend that on flying me and the missus to the World Cup taking in some games in the US and Mexico and was registered for tickets and a rough itinerary planned. However that decision all changed as I watched the clown show, clusterfuck of the Trump/Infantino White House press conferences, alongside the news of the appalling treatment of immigrants and tourists in the US. I’ve basically decided that not a cent of my money will go to making the tournament a success for either of those odious pricks. Instead I’ll spend the money on taking in the Ashes, the Rugby World Cup and a few decent gigs/music festivals in the Australia, helping the local economy here. Adam, 53, Brisbane, Australia
‘Do I think it’ll be worth it? No’
I spent $14,400 on tickets to nine games (a total of 32 tickets). Six group games, two round of 32 and one round of 16.
I am expecting that the majority of my tickets will be taken by friends and family traveling from the UK – I only intend to attend two to three games personally. Do I think it’ll be worth it? No. I think it is crazy to spend $500 per ticket for a football game, especially given so many of the group games will be between countries that would not have qualified for a 32-team World Cup. However, with games “local” to me, it still feels more accessible than 2030 or 2034. I attended the World Cup in 2010 and spent £800 on tickets in total, including the quarter-final, semi-final and final. I went to Brazil 2014 (but was only able to get tickets for one game) and Russia 2018, but skipped 2022. Prices for 2026 are out of control but the risk of waiting in the hope ticket prices crash (as they did for the Club World Cup) closer to the time was not a risk I was willing to take. Tom F, Long Island
‘Still the most pure form of the sport around’
I bought four tickets for a group game in Philadelphia. I got selected in the Fifa lottery and the process itself to buy the tickets was pretty straightforward. I wanted tickets for a New York game as it’s closer to me but the Category 3 & 4 tickets were not available and the Category 2 tickets were too expensive. I ended up paying $155 each for four tickets. It’s a big outlay but unfortunately any event in the States is just going to be expensive.
I have had a bit of buyer’s remorse at times about getting the tickets but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a World Cup game. Despite all the ridiculousness around it, once the games start it is still the most pure form of the sport around.
Obviously the situation with ICE is worrying. I work in construction so I’ve met a lot of Colombian & Ecuadorean people who would love to go to these games but, can they be sure they will be not be hassled going to game even if they are in the USA legitimately? Will fans from those countries want to travel even though they are some of the teams who have bought the most color to recent World Cups? Even neutral Latin & Central Americans would probably love to see it but will they want to deal with the hassle of going to a game? And that’s before you get to the question of cost. John, Irishman living in New York
‘I spent $70,000 on tickets’
I have bought 62 tickets. Spent approximately $70,000. I do think it will be worth it as they can be resold. It’s also, in my opinion, the best sporting event and only comes around twice a decade. Yes, there were obstacles, but all challenges in life are opportunities. Sameer Somal, entrepreneur, New York
‘Basic safety and dignity are on the line’
Miami is absolutely not ready for a World Cup. The city has no real public transportation, the roads are a mess on a normal day, and the infrastructure is nowhere near capable of handling an event of this scale.
And honestly, I’m not buying tickets. Fifa is a corrupt organization that has never cared about fans or human rights – only profit. The last World Cup proved that.
To make things even worse, the atmosphere in the US under the Trump administration is frightening. Brown people – including myself – live with the fear of being targeted simply because of our skin. It’s hard to celebrate a global event when basic safety and dignity are on the line. Antonio Gomez Berumen, Miami
‘Don’t think I will take the risk’
Living in Toronto, it’s been a life’s dream for me to attend a World Cup match and I was very excited with the prospect of a World Cup happening in the US, Canada and Mexico. Two things have tempered my optimism: first, Donald Trump and the current state of the United States. It is quite evident that the current dispensation does not want outsiders in the country – more so, outsiders who look like me (brown and Indian). At this current stage, I don’t think I will take the risk of going to the US to watch a match. That leaves very few matches to be held in Toronto. I have signed up for all the Fifa draws so far, waiting in queue for hours only to be told that I have been ‘entered’ in a draw. Till now, I have not heard any positive news. I would love to watch a football World Cup match – any match, honestly – and I understand that it may not be cheap which is why I’ve started trying from so early. But I am getting frustrated and I don’t think I will be able to get tickets after all – I don’t think I can afford the astronomical prices that I see floating around. Angikaar Choudhury, 35, Toronto
‘Once-in-a-lifetime experience’
I bought my World Cup 2026 tickets during the Early Visa Draw. In total I’ve spent over $7,000 so far. The process was stressful – at one point I waited almost 40 minutes just to get into the system, and by the time I got in, many of the major matches like the semi-finals and the final were already gone. The prices in general were quite high, but I still wanted to secure the games I cared about. Even with all the difficulties, I’m really excited. I’ll be in the US for my summer holiday, and I can’t wait to attend the matches in New York and Miami. For me, this feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Cansu, Türkiye
‘Impossible to support’
I won’t be buying tickets. Even though travel would be very easy for me as an American citizen, and both of my sisters live in host cities (NYC and Dallas), so lodging wouldn’t be an issue. And yet, I’m just so disgusted with the Trump administration and the way “Johnny” was cozied up to him, and with the extortionate ticket prices, and the looming threat of ICE – it’s just impossible to support. And it’s really upsetting, because I have a five-year-old son and this should be a core memory for him. But in the end I think I’ll save up the money and use it to take him to a game at the Emirates instead. Although, I wouldn’t completely rule out one of the Mexican venues next summer … Alex, Montana
‘London 2012 was so much simpler’
This has been beyond stressful. Between family and friends we’ve had about 10 accounts across the UK and USA trying in the presale draws and got nothing.
We did manage to get extremely lucky that our credit card company (Wells Fargo) had a draw so we had about 15-20 devices trying to login and my husband got us four tickets for the round of 16 in Houston for $2,000. Our kids will be six and 10 and we can only hope we get really lucky and England will be playing. We’re still trying to get tickets for the Kansas City quarter-final as it’s the closest game to where we live (a 10-hour drive).
Major major obstacles, London 2012 was so much simpler! Claire, Colorado
‘Easier to find the Aurora Borealis’
I naively thought getting at least one pair of World Cup tickets would be as manageable as getting tickets for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Surely, I thought, If I could manage to figure out the IOC’s ticketing system and attended a ton of Olympic events with face value tickets, then surely purchasing one pair of tickets to a local World Cup would be somewhat achievable. I was wrong. I was very wrong.
I applied for every single ticketing opportunity and failed each time. It’s been easier to find the Aurora Borealis in our neighborhood than it is to find someone who managed to win the World Cup lottery – not one of my friends/family/co-workers/neighbors/community members managed to snag tickets.
I admit the frustration of being unable to attend a local World Cup game has dampened my enthusiasm for the event a bit. I still haven’t given up hope and have joined every available promotional contest and event to try to get a pair of those tickets. And I have also been keeping an eye on the secondary market in case some fair priced tickets magically pop up. But I’ve also come to accept that if it doesn’t happen, then it doesn’t. I’ll be perfectly happy to enjoy the World Cup in the comfort of my home, at my local sports bar, or at a neighborhood watch party – the places where all the real local fans will be this World Cup. Rex, Richmond, Canada
‘We still think it will be worth it’
My family and I bought tickets. We spent $800 for four tickets, and plan to buy two more (for which we have budgeted another $800).
The ticket lotteries had us stressed that all the tickets would be gone by the time the general sale started. So when my mother-in-law was drawn for one of the pre-sale right-to-buy contests, we bought tickets right away. Since my mother-in-law, who is older, was the one who won the drawing, we needed to coach her over FaceTime on how to buy the tickets. She was quickly getting overwhelmed, especially because the ticket prices seemed to be changing but the second (as other more tech savvy winners bought up the cheap seats). We needed tickets on [26 June], since that was the date we were all able to get off work and school. The game ended up being Egypt-Iran. It is exciting to get to see Mo Salah play in person, but I would be lying if I wasn’t a bit disappointed to not get France or Brazil, or another “bigger” footballing country.
With all of that said, we still think it will be worth it – seeing high-level football like the World Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for football fans in a non-footballing country like the US. I completely understand why my fellow American soccer fans are willing to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to see games. Paul, Illinois
‘Once-in-a-lifetime adventure … squashed’
After surviving a health scare, it has been a dream of mine to go to a World Cup final. For Qatar 2022 I wasn’t well enough and I wasn’t too keen on the chosen location for the World Cup. I’d pencilled in 2026’s final in New York as my plan. I was organised, I booked accommodation two years in advance to be in New York over the final.
Everything was in place, we just needed tickets. We knew these would be expensive and have managed to save about $1,000AUD each for final tickets. We’d probably even go to $1,200AUD each if we had to and we based these estimations on the last final in Qatar with the cheapest final tickets there being $900AUD. Then [in December], the prices came out. Cheapest ticket for the final is roughly $6,250AUD each. Or $13,000AUD for the both of us. We don’t have that kind of money.
What was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, a dream after years of illness and not being able to work has been squashed by Fifa’s insistence of making as much money as possible, of Infantino’s disregard for the real football fan that puts their entire life savings at risk. It’s disgusting. We will go to New York. We will have a great time in a great city. We’ve booked the flights and accommodation. But we won’t be going to the final I’ve dreamt of purely because Fifa and Infantino need to make more money on top of all the money they already have. We are devastated. Jon Hewitt, 42, Australia
‘No idea if this strategy will work’
I have purchased some tickets, but not as many as I’d like. I’m frustrated about how Fifa is handling their ticket offerings for those who use a wheelchair.
[Regarding hospitality seats] I asked On Location whether I could buy a wheelchair seat [space], and they said I had to buy a regular seat, then call them and let them know I wanted a wheelchair space, and they would try to accommodate. But their email specifically said, “please note, while we will do our best to accommodate your request, this is not a guarantee.” So I have to spend $2,000-$5,000 on a ticket, and they can’t even guarantee that I can use it. (I am unlikely to buy Hospitality seats because of the cost, but I’m still disappointed that the option doesn’t exist for those with accessibility needs.) I asked Fifa Collect if I could exercise a RTB to get a wheelchair seat. Their response was “Unfortunately we do not handle this. After you buy your ticket you should address to Fifa Ticketing direct in order for them to assist you.” So once again, I’d have to spend a lot of money up front, with no guarantee that I’ll get a usable seat. I actually had a RTB but ended up selling it because it was useless to me.
I have had two shots at buying tickets, the Visa pre-sale and the Early Access Draw. In both cases companion seats (a regular seat next to the wheelchair space) were all gone early. By time time my purchasing time slot came up, there were still wheelchair spaces available for many of the games, but no companion seats. I think that’s because Fifa lets you buy up to three companion seats for each wheelchair seat. So the companion seats were sold out much more quickly than the wheelchair seats. By letting early buyers get three companion seats, those seats run out by the time later buyers get online, forcing wheelchair users to attend games on their own.
[As of 22 January] I have continued to ping Fifa about how to get a companion seat next to a wheelchair seat. They finally responded that I should just purchase two wheelchair seats: one for the wheelchair user, and one for the companion. I have no idea if this strategy will work, but that’s what I’ve done for the upcoming Random Selection Draw. We’ll see. Jeff, 67, Santa Cruz, California
