StadiumPosts Logo
Stay upto date with notifications from Stadiumposts
Notifications can be managed in browser preferences

2026 WORLD CUP FEVER GROWS AS TICKET SALES TOP ONE MILLION

FIFA announces over 1 million tickets sold for the 2026 World Cup in North America. Fans from 212 countries have purchased seats, with the next ticket sales phase starting on October 27th.

2026 World Cup Fever Grows As Ticket Sales Top One Million
The FIFA World Cup, coming to North America next summer, will be the first World Cup with three host countries in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and it will be the first to feature a 48-team field. | Annabelle Gordon/UPI

FIFA announced on Thursday that more than 1 million tickets for the World Cup next year had already been sold, the first numerical update since the formal start of sales earlier this month.

As anticipated, customers in the three countries that will host the tournament—the United States, Canada, and Mexico—had the strongest demand. Although only 28 of the 48 spaces in the field have been filled, FIFA reported that citizens from 212 different countries and territories have already made purchases.

According to FIFA, England, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, and France are the last ten nations in terms of the number of tickets already bought. The competition takes place between June 11 and July 19.

"I am happy that so many football-loving fans want to be part of this historic event in North America as national teams from all over the world compete for a spot at the historic FIFA World Cup 26," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino in a statement.

"It is a fantastic response and a great indication that the largest, most inclusive FIFA World Cup in history is grabbing the interest of fans worldwide," he continued.

FIFA did not provide any breakdowns by host site or disclose any precise numbers on the number of tickets sold for particular matches.

In a lottery held last month, the buyers who bought tickets in this initial round of availability were chosen from 4.5 million applicants. In addition to venue- and team-specific tickets, FIFA said that single-match tickets for all 104 games will be made available to fans on October 27th, when the next draw's entry period opens.

There will be almost 7.1 million seats available for the 104 tournament matches in 16 North American stadiums, according to the reported stadium attendance numbers. The number of seats that will be offered for sale to the general public is unclear.

According to ticket data, at least 40 matches had the cheapest tickets, which were $60. Nearly all of the seats and the majority of the matches were priced significantly higher. Prices for the U.S.'s first match, which will take place in Inglewood, California, ranged from $560 to $2,735 when sales began.

With the ability to buy, fans could select seats from four different categories: Category 1 offers the most expensive tickets, while Category 4 is located near the top of the stadium. As the largest event in football introduces dynamic pricing, ticket prices are anticipated to change.

The ticket draw's second-phase winners will be able to buy between the middle of November and the beginning of December. After the World Cup schedule is decided by the final team draw on December 5, a third stage, known as a random selection draw, will begin.

Additionally, tickets will be offered "on a first-come, first-served basis" as the competition draws near. Additionally, FIFA said on Thursday that its official ticket resale platform is now accessible.

CRISTIANO RONALDO PROTESTS AL-HILAL'S BENZEMA DEAL BY SKIPPING AL-NASSR LEAGUE MATCH

Cristiano Ronaldo is fuming. Discover why the Al-Nassr star skipped his last match and is now threatening to leave Saudi Arabia.

top-news
Ronaldo "considering leaving Saudi Arabia" despite signing 2027 contract extension

Cristiano Ronaldo has been the main attraction in the Saudi Pro League ever since he landed in the Middle East three years ago. Now, for the first time, it looks like he’s actually thinking about leaving. He’s frustrated. He feels the playing field isn’t level, and it’s starting to get to him.

Here’s the deal: Four clubs in the league—Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ahli—get their backing straight from the state. But Ronaldo sat out Al-Nassr’s match against Al-Riyadh on Monday night. Why? He was protesting. He found out Al-Hilal was about to sign Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad, and that was the last straw. From Ronaldo’s perspective, Al-Hilal keeps getting more freedom to splash cash than everyone else. They’re the current champions, and Ronaldo still hasn’t managed to win his first Saudi title.

Saudi officials tried to calm him down. According to Diario AS, they reached out and argued that most of Al-Hilal’s extra spending comes from Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, not the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Al-Hilal just brought in Kader Meite for €30 million, Saimon Bouabre for €23 million, and now Benzema. Al-Nassr, on the other hand, only managed two free transfers this winter. Sure, they spent a lot more in the summer, but that didn’t seem to matter to Ronaldo.

Reports from Portugal, cited by AS, say Ronaldo’s not ruling anything out—not even leaving Saudi Arabia this summer. That’s despite just signing an extension with Al-Nassr until 2027.

And honestly, he has a point. Since he arrived, Al-Hilal have spent €647 million, while Al-Nassr have shelled out €410 million and Al-Ittihad €365 million. These numbers probably don’t include salaries—and let’s face it, nobody’s making more than Ronaldo. He’s supposed to return on Friday when Al-Nassr face Al-Ittihad, but right now, no one really knows if he’ll play or if he’s planning his next move.

N’GOLO KANTE SKIPS TRAINING AS AL-ITTIHAD BLOCK HIS MOVE TO FENERBAHCE OFFICIALLY

N’Golo Kante has gone on strike at Al-Ittihad after a paperwork error blocked his move to Fenerbahce. Can he still sign by Friday?

top-news
Paperwork error halts N’Golo Kante’s transfer to Turkey at final hour

N’Golo Kanté didn’t show up for Al-Ittihad training on Tuesday, and it’s not hard to see why. He was all set to head to Fenerbahçe, but the deal fell apart at the last minute—apparently because Al-Ittihad messed up some paperwork. Kante was supposed to fly to Istanbul and sign, but thanks to this administrative slip, he’s stuck in limbo. There’s still a shot at reviving the transfer sinceKanté Turkey’s transfer window stays open until Friday, February 6.

Kante was one of the first big European names to jump to the Saudi Pro League, joining Al-Ittihad in 2023 after seven years with Chelsea. He’s been a key player in Jeddah, helping Al-Ittihad win the 2024-25 league title and the King’s Cup.

Then, in the middle of the January window, word got out that Fenerbahce wanted him. The Turkish club were eager to add a World Cup winner to their squad. The plan was to swap Kante for Youssef En-Nesyri, who’d head to Saudi Arabia. Everything seemed set until deadline day, when news broke that an error by Al-Ittihad in the Transfer Matching System stopped the transfer cold.

Fenerbahce didn’t hold back. They blamed Al-Ittihad directly, saying they’d done everything right: agreements with the players, medicals, paperwork, all wrapped up on time. But Al-Ittihad entered something wrong in the system, and that was that. Fenerbahçe even asked for an extension and reached out to FIFA, but nothing moved. In the end, the deal died, and Fenerbahçe put out a statement saying they understood the frustration and would keep working to strengthen the squad.

Meanwhile, Kante’s making his feelings clear. According to Ben Jacobs, he skipped training on Tuesday, still hoping the move to Fenerbahce can happen. Santi Aouna says talks between the clubs aren’t dead yet. L’Equipe is reporting that Kanté doesn’t want to play for Al-Ittihad while he waits for FIFA’s decision. With the Turkish window open until Friday, there’s still a glimmer of hope for Kante, though En-Nesyri’s move is off the table for now.

Premier League Standings

WhatsApp Read More News