October 27, 2025
Kate Frese/for PhillyVoice
Fans must enter by Friday for a chance to buy 2026 World Cup tickets in November. Lincoln Financial Field will host six matches, including a July 4 game in the tournament's knockout round.
FIFA is set to sell 1 million more tickets to the 2026 World Cup during the second phase of the ticketing process that started Monday. Soccer fans must enter in a lottery by 11 a.m. Friday for a chance to be selected to purchase tickets in mid-November.
Anyone can enter this second-phase ticket draw, but those who reside in the three North American host countries – Canada, Mexico and the United States – will have a dedicated time slots during which they can buy single-match tickets to games in their home countries before sales open up to lottery winners in the rest of the world.
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FIFA's first ticket lottery that took place in September drew criticism about the process and pricing.
The World Cup takes place between June 11 and July 19, and Lincoln Financial Field will host six matches, including a knockout-round game on the Fourth of July.
For anyone entering the lottery to purchase tickets, tournament organizers require you to create a FIFA ID. Fans who are selected in the draw will be notified at least 48 hours before their assigned time slot to buy tickets opens. In North America, ticket sales for lottery winner start Nov. 12 and last for 72 hours.
FIFA has already sold more than 1 million tickets during its first round of sales, which it called its presale phase.
"We have already seen massive interest from around the world for this tournament, and especially from within the host countries as Canada, Mexico and the United States prepare to host the biggest FIFA World Cup yet," Heimo Schirgi, FIFA World Cup 26 chief operating officer, said in a statement. "This second phase, with its host country domestic exclusivity time slot, will allow us to say thank you to these local fans, while ensuring global opportunity as well."
FIFA has been criticized for dynamic pricing of tickets, which adjusts the cost according to demand, and the organization's exclusive resale website. While some tickets were listed at $60, the Athletic reported that many fans waited for hours in digital queues during the first phase before finding that those tickets were scarce.
One group of fans from England, upset with the cost to attend matches, estimated that even buying the cheapest face-value tickets, it would still cost more than $3,000 to attend every England match, if the team made it to the final. That is more than double what it cost in Qatar in 2022, ESPN reported.
Zohran Mamdani, a mayoral candidate in New York City, launched the "Game Over Greed" campaign, arguing that admission to the games is too expensive for most working class people living in the host cities. "What this means is the biggest sporting event in the world is happening in your backyard, and you'll be priced out of it," he said in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, in September.
On its resale platform, FIFA charges sellers and buyers, each, 15% fees, and some tickets on the platform are already being sold for more than 10 times face value.
This latest ticket lottery is the second of four phases in the ticketing process. The third begins after the team draw on Dec. 5, which is when teams will be assigned to groups for the tournament's first stage. At that time, matchups will be confirmed, and fans can submit applications for specific games The remaining tickets will be available in the spring, first-come, first-served.
NOTE: Portions of this article and its headlines were edited after it was originally published.
