December 11, 2025
Kate Frese/for PhillyVoice
FIFA's random draw selection for World Cup tickets is open from Dec. 11 to Jan. 13. Fans who enter can request tickets to specific matches, including the six that will be held at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philly. Tickets will be awarded in February.
Soccer fans have another chance to score World Cup tickets in FIFA's random draw lottery that opened Thursday, allowing people to select their desired matches now that the Group Stage schedule is set.
For fans hoping to attend a match at Lincoln Financial Field next year, the random draw lottery gives the option to request tickets for any of Philadelphia's five Group Stage matches or apply for the Round of 16 match on the Fourth of July.
This is FIFA's third World Cup presale phase following lotteries in September and October. The first was open exclusively to Visa cardholders. The second was open to all fans. FIFA said it sold 2 million tickets during the first two rounds. This random draw lottery runs from Thursday to Jan. 13.
To enter, fans must create a FIFA ID on the organization's website. Those who entered the earlier lotteries can use the same login credentials. The timing of when fans enter the random draw over the next month will not impact their chances of being awarded tickets to any of the matches they request.
In the random draw, fans can apply for tickets to multiple matches and select which ticket categories they want based on price and seating location. Low-end starting prices (Category 3) for matches in Philadelphia range from $140 for the Curaçao vs. Côte d’Ivoire match to $265 for the Brazil vs. Haiti match. Knockout round tickets start at $320.
Each household can request up to four tickets per game and a maximum of 40 tickets for the entire tournament. Since each household is tied to an address, all FIFA accounts registered to that address are considered part of the same household. People listed as guests on another household's application are not permitted to receive more than one ticket to the same match in the random draw.
Four Category 3 tickets to every game in Philly would cost more than $5,000.
The match schedule in Philadelphia is below:
• Sunday, June 14 at 7 p.m. | Côte d’Ivoire vs. Ecuador | Match 9, Group E
• Friday, June 19 at 9 p.m. | Brazil vs. Haiti | Match 29, Group C
• Monday, June 22 at 5 p.m. | France vs. the winner of the Iraq/Bolivia/Suriname playoff | Match 42, Group I
• Thursday, June 25 at 4 p.m. | Curaçao vs. Côte d’Ivoire | Match 55, Group E
• Saturday, June 27 at 5 p.m. | Croatia vs. Ghana | Match 68, Group L
• Saturday, July 4 at 5 p.m. | Round of 16 | Match 89, TBD
Fans who enter the random draw will be notified by email in February whether they have been awarded all or some of the tickets they requested. A partial selection means fans will receive the number of tickets they requested to a match, but not to all of the matches they requested. Those who are selected for matches will be automatically charged for their tickets in February.
Fans who don't get selected in the random draw will still have other options to purchase World Cup tickets. FIFA will hold a final sale of all remaining inventory in the spring, closer to the start of the tournament in June. FIFA also is selling more expensive hospitality packages with premium seating, food and beverages, and VIP access that range from $1,450 to more than $2,300 for the matches in Philly.
The secondary ticket market is shaping up to be even more expensive.
FIFA's official resale platform, which gives the organization a 30% cut of ticket sales, is uncapped for next year's World Cup because of the unregulated market in the U.S. and Canada where 91 of the tournament's 104 matches will be played. FIFA's resale platform is temporarily closed until Dec. 15. A premium ticket to the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in North Jersey was recently listed on the platform for $57,000, prompting a wave of backlash against FIFA for its dynamic pricing model that adjusts to demand.
On third-party reselling platforms like StubHub, most ticket prices for the Philadelphia matches now range from about $500 on the low end to more than $10,000 for some premium seats. Popular Group Stage matches, like Brazil vs. Haiti, have tickets starting at more than $900 on StubHub.
FIFA has come under fire in recent days from the leaders of European soccer organizations, who say the organization's World Cup ticketing system is a "betrayal" of the teams and their followers, the Athletic reported Thursday. Football Supporters Europe, the continent's leading fans' group, called on FIFA to halt sales of the reserved block of tickets that go to club membership groups in participating nations. FSE said FIFA's prices for those tickets are "extortionate" and called on the organization to conduct a review of its practices.
"Matchgoers across the world deserve protection from these rip-off prices," Football Supporters Association, a group representing fans in England and Wales, wrote Thursday morning in a post on X.
Despite the steep cost to attend, vacation rental company Airbnb projects Philadelphia will get an influx of about 17,000 people who book stays at properties listed on its platform during the weeks when matches take place at Lincoln Financial Field. A report the company released Wednesday predicts Airbnb hosts could earn a combined $8 million in profit from World Cup lodgers.
