FIFA Recorded Record Demand for Tickets to the 2026 World Cup

According to FIFA's press service, around 500 million ticket applications were received during the second phase of ticket sales. This phase lasted 33 days, from December 11 to January 13, and it was during this period that most tickets were available. Only applications submitted to FIFA's central system were taken into account.

FIFA characterized the level of interest in the upcoming tournament as "a new record demand in the history of world sports," but did not provide specific figures compared to previous tournaments. For instance, during the similar sales phase for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, about 23.5 million applications were registered for 2 million available tickets.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first where the number of teams has increased from 32 to 48. FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated that the total number of tickets for the tournament will be between 6 and 7 million.

The highest interest in tickets came from fans in the host countries, as well as from Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, and Colombia. The highest number of applications was received for the group stage match between Colombia and Portugal, which will take place on June 27 in Miami. The final match ranked third in terms of applications, while the opening match ranked fourth.