World Cup organisers on Tuesday announced a new discounted ticket category following strong backlash from fans over pricing for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
In a statement, FIFA said it had introduced a limited “Supporter Entry Tier”, priced at $60, covering all 104 matches, including the final. The initiative, FIFA explained, was “designed to further support travelling fans following their national teams across the tournament”.
According to the world football governing body, the $60 (€51) tickets will be set aside for supporters of qualified teams and will represent 10 per cent of each national federation’s ticket allocation.
However, Football Supporters Europe (FSE), which last week described the original prices as “extortionate” and “astronomical”, said the measure did not go far enough.
“While we welcome FIFA’s apparent recognition of the damage its original plans were likely to cause, the revisions fall short,” FSE said in a statement.
The group noted that ticket prices for 2026 are nearly five times higher than those at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, calling FIFA’s pricing strategy a “monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup”. It added that a fan following their team from the opening match to the final would face costs of at least $6,900, despite organisers having promised tickets from $21 in the 2018 bid document.
– ‘Appeasement tactic’ –
FSE said FIFA’s partial reversal exposed weaknesses in how ticket prices for next year’s tournament were determined.
“For now, we see FIFA’s announcement as little more than an appeasement tactic in response to the global backlash,” the group said, adding that the policy appeared rushed and lacking proper consultation, including with FIFA’s own member associations.
Based on publicly available allocations, FSE argued that only a few hundred supporters per match and team would benefit from the $60 tickets, while most fans would still be forced to pay prices far higher than at any previous World Cup.
The organisation also criticised the absence of specific provisions for supporters with disabilities and their companions.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed those concerns, saying FIFA’s cheaper ticket category did not go far enough.
“I welcome FIFA’s announcement of some lower-priced supporters’ tickets,” Starmer wrote on X. “But I encourage FIFA to do more to ensure tickets are affordable, so the World Cup does not lose touch with the genuine supporters who make the game so special.”
Announcing the new ticket tier, FIFA said national federations “are requested to ensure that these tickets are specifically allocated to loyal fans who are closely connected to their national teams”.
FIFA also said fans who purchase knockout-stage tickets but later see their team eliminated will have administrative fees waived when refunds are processed. The governing body added that the announcement comes “amid extraordinary global demand”, with 20 million ticket requests already submitted.
The draw for tickets across all price categories in the first phase of sales is scheduled for Tuesday, January 13.
