FIFA has confirmed that more than 500 million ticket requests were submitted during the random selection draw phase for the 2026 World Cup, underlining the extraordinary global appetite for the expanded tournament.
The application window, which opened on 11 December and closed on Tuesday, allowed fans to register their interest using a credit card. All applicants have been placed into a single pool, with each entry carrying an equal chance of being selected and granted the opportunity to purchase tickets.
Supporters who are unsuccessful in this initial draw will still have further opportunities to secure seats during subsequent sales phases, as additional ticket allocations are released closer to the tournament.
FIFA stated that applicants will be informed of the outcome of the first draw via email, with notifications expected no earlier than 5 February.
Predictably, the highest volume of applications came from the three host nations—the United States, Mexico and Canada. Strong demand was also recorded across Europe and South America, with Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Colombia among the countries generating the most interest outside North America.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino hailed the response as a landmark moment for the sport. “Half a billion ticket requests in just over a month is more than demand – it’s a global statement,” he said. “On behalf of FIFA, I would like to thank and congratulate football fans everywhere for this extraordinary response.”
The 2026 World Cup, the first to feature 48 teams, will be staged across 16 host cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada, running from 11 June to 19 July.
Among individual fixtures, the most sought-after match was Colombia versus Portugal, a Group K encounter scheduled for 27 June in Miami. Other highly popular games included Mexico against South Korea in Guadalajara on 18 June, the final at East Rutherford, New Jersey on 19 July, the tournament’s opening match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City on 11 June, and a round-of-32 fixture in Toronto on 2 July.
The scale of demand highlights not only anticipation for the World Cup’s return to North America, but also the growing global reach of an expanded tournament set to reshape the competition’s future.
