Everyone wants a ticket to a game, but how do you acquire a ticket? How much does it cost? Are there any stipulations?
We address all of these common questions below.
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- Current World Cups Details
- Previous World Cup Ticket Examples
- In General, How do you purchase tickets?
- Official Way #2 – Travel/Hospitality/Corporate Affiliates
- Official Way #3 – Team Federations
- Official Way #4 – Official Sponsorship/Corporations
- Unofficial / Unauthorized Way / Blackmarket
Current World Cups Details
2026 USA / Mexico / Canada
You can find our 2026 specific article here.
The above link will detail the 2026 tournament and answer (once it is all available):
- When do 2026 World Cup Tickets go on sale?
- How do I purchase 2026 World Cup tickets specifically
- What are the phases and timelines of 2026 World Cup tickets?
- etc
Also:
- Read below to educate yourself on how the process typically works and see live examples from tournaments past as we are quite passionate about this topic!
- Come back to visit as we’ll likely see packages with Roadtrips and Next Generation International again!
- Have a comment or question or want us to put you in touch with a package provider, send us a message!
Previous World Cup Ticket Examples
2022 Qatar
You can review specifics on how Qatar 2022 tickets were allocated here.
2023 Australia/New Zealand
You can review specifics on how Australia / New Zealand 2023 tickets were allocated & priced here.
In General, How do you purchase tickets?
You Need A FIFA Account
First and foremost, you’ll need a FIFA account for most actions in the tournament. This is a heads up to be ready to create a password and enter other account details.
When you navigate to FIFA’s ticket section, find the appropriate tournament and you’ll be prompted to create an account. We used to link to this account creation specifically but FIFA has changed their site around so this is the best we can do at the moment.
Once you’re done with an account, educate yourself below on the 4 official ways to buy a ticket officially + black market:
Official Way #1 – FIFA’s Website
All official World Cup tickets are purchased on FIFA’s own Ticketing Portal/Website. Read below if you’re wondering about 3rd party sites. Now that you know where to go, next is to understand that there are a few different “types” of tickets to purchase.
The typical types are explained below – with minor variances at each tournament.
- Team Specific
- You commit to a specific team and should they qualify, you receive tickets to the team’s matches, wherever and whenever they play.
- Typically, this is only during Phase 1, except for hospitality packages (see below)
- Stadium Specific
- You commit to a specific stadium and then receive tickets to whatever teams are assigned to play at whatever time.
- Typically, this is only during Phase 1, except for hospitality packages (see below)
- Individual Tickets
- You commit to a specific match.
- As you’ll see in the Phases below, you will not know the teams in Phase 1 but will know after the draw, which is typically the start of Phase 2.
Understanding the Typical Ticket Phases
Again, FIFA’s website is the official place to make a purchase. However, ticket sales allotments occur, typically, across multiple “Phases” for a purchase:
- Phase 1 is a random lottery before the teams are even known
- Phase 2 is a first come, first serve after the draw
- Phase 3 is a random lottery
- Phase 4 is typically the last phase and first come, first serve
At times, we’ve seen only Phase 1 and 2 occur, and a second lottery is skipped.
The biggest pro to obtaining a ticket this official route – it is official and you are guaranteed entry.
Australia / New Zealand 2023 Ticket Phases
The Women’s World Cup in Australia & New Zealand had only 3 phases.
Qatar 2022 Ticket Phases
Qatar 2022 had 3 only “Phases” but Phase 2 is split into 2 sub-phases so it is essentially the same idea.
Buying Multiple Tickets
When applying for tickets, the person applying is the “Main Applicant” and additional tickets are considered “Guests”. It is important you understand this as you can change your guests but NOT the “main applicant”. FIFA does scan a Fan ID and Match Ticket upon entering a stadium.
So if you have a group of 4 that wants to go, you can apply for 4 tickets. You will be the “main applicant” and the other 3 will be “guests”. The “main applicant” later has the responsibility of sending the tickets to their guests.
Choosing Seat Location
You CANNOT choose your specific seat when purchasing tickets. Whether you bought tickets in the Random Lottery Phase or in First Come, First Serve Phase, seats are allocated weeks before the tournament starts.
Allocation of where you sit is based on what CATEGORY of ticket you purchase. Read below in the “Explaining Categories” section for more.
This means the seats in the last row of the stadium may be the exact same price as the front row. We explain how this can be a “pro” in a different article.
Official Way #2 – Travel/Hospitality/Corporate Affiliates
General Hospitality Comments:
FIFA has their official hospitality, (MATCH Hospitality for recent tournaments), which operates sites for the Men’s World Cup as well as the Women’s World Cup.
Think of this as a way to skip the madness during the Sales Phases and get a guaranteed ticket. You pay a premium on this of course but it isn’t as bad as paying as much as people are willing to pay on the black market.
For example, in Qatar, the least expensive package was $950 USD per person per match ticket. For the 2023 Women’s tournament, it is about $200 USD for a hospitality ticket per person.
MATCH can also subcontract hospitality packages to regional vendors but be careful to vet anyone who claims to be a ticket provider.
If you have questions about this, send us a message to hello@theworldcupguide.com and we’ll try to assist.
Other World Cup Travel Packages:
There’s also creative travel packages from vendors like Next Generation International & Roadtrips which both had 2022 & 2023 packages and will definitely have 2026 & 2027 packages.
In fact, Roadtrips already announced their 2026 packages.
For direct connections to Next Generation International and RoadTrips, send us a message or email directly hello@theworldcupguide.com and we can put you in touch – and possibly receive a discount.
Corporate Sponsor Ticket Inventory:
Lastly, corporate sponsors will manage their own ticket inventory. They are technically not allowed to resell tickets but we’ve certainly seen promises from people on Facebook.
Official Way #3 – Team Federations
Each Football/Soccer Association is allocated tickets as well.
The allocation to their fans and supporters groups is handled by each federation individually and you’ll want to be in touch with your Federation for details.
The federations may also host competitions or work with a vendor to organize packages.
Official Way #4 – Official Sponsorship/Corporations
Sponsors & Corporations will of course have allocated tickets to dole out to a lucky few. For Qatar 2022, you could also purchase an official package via Qatar Airways.
Contact us if you have a story to share here!
Also, it is quite common for sponsors to launch contests or packages.
Unofficial / Unauthorized Way / Blackmarket
Buyer BEWARE. FIFA states that the “unauthorised transfer, resale or further use of Tickets is a violation of the General Terms and Conditions for the Use of Tickets.”
With that said, there will be plenty of opportunity to take the risk online or in person at the event. There seems to be as many successful stories as there are horror stories (arrested, fake tickets, robbery, etc). The choice and subsequent consequence is yours to make and own.
The most common question is “Can I buy a ticket on Stubhub” (or related 3rd party vendor)?
Read that quote above first and foremost.
Any listed ticket you see on a 3rd party are likely “guest tickets” of someone that purchased. If you ignore the FIFA regulations and go this route, do know that your success of receiving tickets is completely dependent on a stranger sending you the tickets once available – and that may not be until weeks before the tournament.
Read that again – tickets will not be in the physical hands of official purchase parties until weeks before the tournament starts so if you’re buying from any platform outside of FIFA, think about that anxiety.
Plus, FIFA allows a “resale portal” where anyone unable to attend the tournament can post their tickets for resale and the price remains the same for the next buyer who then buys an official ticket and the seller is refunded. See below for more details.
How much does a ticket cost?
Tickets to Group Matches are surprisingly affordable – compared to what you may imagine. The real trick of the trade is applying ahead of time so you don’t have to fight the crowds over a nosebleed seat online.
Explaining Categories
Also – tickets are broken down into CATEGORIES. These categories are based on positioning relative to the field and NOT how close someone is, so yes, that means, you may pay less money to sit front row (but be behind the goal) than sitting in the last row of the stadium (but be positioned at midfield).
- Category 1 = between the 18s (i.e. middle of the field)
- Category 2 = endline to 18 (i.e. at corners)
- Category 3 = behind the goal (i.e. well…behind the goal)
- Category 4 = if it exists, it is reserved for residents of the country
See an example layout of Categories at Stadium 974 for Qatar.
Actual Tournament Ticket Pricing Examples
Australia New Zealand 2023 Price Details
Starts at $20 AUD for adults! Read more here.
In fact, we purchased two tickets to the 2023 Women’s World Cup FINAL for only $25 USD each!
Don’t miss out, educate yourself and apply.
Qatar 2022 Price Details
For updates, check our specific site as mentioned here. A quick summary is below.
All prices shown below are in QAR (Qatari Rial).
A quick site for conversion to your local currency is https://www.oanda.com/currency-converter.
For comparison to USD, every 100 QAR is approximately $27 USD (per January 19th, 2022). Use the link or your own source as currencies are a fluid value.
Russia 2018 Price Details
Russia 2018 to provide helpful information.
“Three categories of tickets were available, with Category 1 the most expensive.
The cheapest seats, Category 3, cost $105 for group stage matches, to $175 for the quarter-finals and $455 for the final. Category 1 seats cost between $550 in the group stage and $1,100 for the final.”
What does this mean?
An OFFICIAL match ticket was as cheap as $105 and potentially FRONT ROW OF A FINAL was $1,100!
When Do Tickets Go On Sale?
USA / Canada Mexico 2026 Note:
Read our 2026 specific article!
That said, 2025 is when they’ll likely go on sale but read up for more details.
2023 Details
Read here to review Australia / New Zealand 2023.
2022 Details
Read here to review Qatar’s details.
How many tickets can one person purchase?
For Qatar 2022, it was 60 total tickets across 6 games.
For Australia / New Zealand 2023, it was 10 tickets/match and 100 max per household.
If I buy tickets, can I resell them without risking a penalty?
Yes! But…there’s a few things you should know as there’s an OFFICIAL way to resell while also not being a greedy individual. We posted more about Qatar reselling here.
Also, read above on the black market.
Little known fact, (in previous tournaments) if you are unable to attend a game, FIFA allows you to re-list these on their site! See Qatar 2022 reselling info as an example.
Why?
The ticket is reallocated to the general public.
Is there a fee to do this?
Of course there is; it is FIFA. It is typically a 5%-10% fee.
You can read more on this directly from FIFA regarding 2014’s policy.
Do I need my passport or ID to enter the game?
You may need a Fan ID.
If you’re wondering if Fan IDs exist for Australia/New Zealand, read here.
If you’re curious about USA/Canada/Mexico 2026, read up on Fan IDs. Since the tournament isn’t quite ready for ticket sales and visitors, the details on immigration and if a Fan ID will be created in addition to or potentially in replacement of, have yet to be determined.
Qatar 2022 rolled out their version of the Fan ID, called the Hay’ya card that was required to enter stadiums.
In both 2018 & 2022, you needed the Fan ID + your match ticket to enter the stadium.
As regulations are released for upcoming tournaments, we’ll update the site but you can also check this article.
I Bought Tickets – Now What?
You’ll want to book your travel; that is your flights, hotels, etc. For tracking domestic and international flight deals, there’s really no better tool out there than Going (formerly Scotts Cheap Flights)
Prepare in advance for packing some World Cup viewing essentials.
Attending a World Cup is not cheap, but it also doesn’t have to break the bank:
- Read our article that details how much $$$ we’ve spent at recent tournaments.
- You can start saving money each month now.
- We use Ally Bank, a high-yield online savings account that has enough interest to pay for 1-2 tickets on solely the interest earned!
- Not sure where to start, check our 7 steps to attending a World Cup as well.
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39 thoughts on “Buying Tickets to the World Cup”
You can secure your seats now by getting rights to buy tickets through FIFA Collect. However those rights do not seem cheap at all: https://www.fifacollect.info/get-rights-to-buy-tickets
Ah – yes, thanks! We posted about FIFA+ Collect in our June Newsletter as well. Definitely a new and expensive way to go about it.
I have a large family. If I want to purchase 16 tickets to one game, how do I go about it?
Hi Steve! If you live in different postal addresses, I’d recommend multiple people applying and hoping for the best. In Qatar, you could only purchase 6 matches per 1 account and supposedly (I didn’t test this) one address.
However, I would assume there would also be a program for “groups”. Obviously, the Hospitality Package is what FIFA would push but I can see from 2023, there was an official “community” program, though, not many details.
I’ll def add this info to the article if I come across info from people that have this experience or if we see anything official. Wish I could be of more help. Good luck!
How can I buy tickets for my entire number of househole of 6
Hi Guillermo! Thanks for the message. I believe FIFA only handles group requests for 10 or more people. This information will arise once they settle the details for 2026 tickets. Assuming there’s no changes from the past, you’d request 6 tickets at once from FIFA during the stage of ticket sales you’re entering. FIFA does not guarantee the tickets are sitting together so that is something to keep in mind. Wishing you luck when the time comes!
Excellent job with the guide and site. Found it to be extremely helpful and informative, keep it up!
One concern I have for the 2026 WC is that Ticketmaster has exclusive ticket selling rights to virtually all major stadiums/venues in the US. Do you guys know if they will be able to enforce that exclusivity throughout the WC? I think we can all agree with how involving TM would have disastrous consequences for fans with tickets scooped out instantly by bots and scalpers and prices reaching insane levels. Please tell me I have nothing to worry about!
Hi George – thanks for message and compliment! FIFA makes it a nuisance to scalp tickets and a good portion of tickets are sold in a lottery format, so not a first-come, first-serve format. Additionally, there’s harsh language about scalping and you can look at the latter parts of section 15 in the terms of sale for 2023 (https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/1dbe10c182907f74/original/20221005-CCL-TKT-FWWC2023-Ticket-Terms-of-Sale-for-GP-v2.pdf) but I was really trying to find Qatar 2022 as those terms would likely be more similar. If FIFA is serious about policing scalping, then there shouldn’t be much of a concern but there was certainly online scalping occurring for 2022. In my opinion, I don’t think Ticketmaster’s contracts will hold up for the World Cup – FIFA has forced countries to change actual laws for the World Cup so this wouldn’t concern me. It’s all conjecture but 2026 will certainly be interesting as many fans in USA specifically, will be caught off-guard by the various phases.
Thank you! Extremely helpful to the beginner/novice like me!
Here is my problem. I bought 1st round tickets in 2nd FIFA selling phase. These tickets were generic. They are random at each stadium.
Recently, our National Soccer federation offered tickets for their own fans through their website sponsored by FIFA which ensures watching game with our fans. I sold or 3 games of 1st round tickets back to FIFA resale platform and bought these 3 games for 2 of us in the same time. Now, original tickets are gone and new tickets are in, BUT, new tickets I can only transfer, I can not keep!? They landed on my phone in my app but they are guest tickets. What do I do. Flying in 10 days from now to Qatar.
Just to clarify one more time. Original tickets purchased in July (including purchaser – myself) were sold back to FIFA resale platform on the same day I bought new tickets with different seats (beginning of Nov). New tickets have landed on on my phone FIFA application as GUEST tickets only. It is asking me to transfer them. I can not keep one for myself!
Update ?
Funny.
Hi, I have a question about attendance/no-show situations. Is FIFA particularly strict on enforcing attendance? If someone bought a package of tickets, but ended up missing a few matches due to unforeseen circumstances (travel delays, illness etc.), will FIFA take notice of this and penalise the person? For example, will FIFA ban the person from attending future games or buying future tickets? Thank you.
Hi Grace, I’ll say this…If you think about it, the resale portal is someone saying “Hey FIFA – I can’t go – here are my tickets to resell”. You may not be able to sell your tickets. Now, only FIFA knows their true influence. Would they mark your account for a future tournament’s request to block it without you knowing? Highly Unlikely but 🤷♂️
I know what a resale portal is, I’m talking about a scenario where it’s already too late to resell tickets – hence the words “ended up missing a few matches”.
Yes, I didn’t mean for that to come across as implying you did not. The point I was trying to make is FIFA keeps the money if the ticket doesn’t resell so they are at least providing a platform where people try to enable others a method to attend. I highly doubt that they’ll “punish” this. I would hope they monitor to this to some degree to notice patterns of serial violators of the spirit of ticket purchases but doubt it. There’s nothing written I’ve ever seen about missing matches.
If you are part of a group that bought tickets, how does the host transfer a ticket to you? They used everyone’s passport info to link the tickets already. But do they have to do something in the Hayya app to transfer them to the other guests?
Good question! Based on this video from FIFA, the tickets can be sent via a mobile app that’ll be used to access the tickets. That mobile app release has yet to be announced.
Hi. I have 2 questions:
1st: How can an organization/company purchase tickets without giving the names of employees? wanted to raffle off as a prize
2nd: can I buy tickets for myself and 5 other friends through one account? can I change the ticket for another in the future: if one of my friends can’t go?
Hi Romario! Your questions are actually quite similar.
WHen you apply for tickets, you become the “main applicant” and your other successful tickets in your application are known as “guests”.
You assign your guests as you like but they’ll need passports.
You can also change your guests.
You can find some basic information about guests here: https://fifa.powerappsportals.com/en-US/qatar2022/faq/category/?id=CAT-01012
I would like to buy one ticket for the world cup final in cat 1. close to field. Not high up. Is that possible?
Hi Peter!
You’ll have to do the following for tickets to the Final:
– Request tickets through FIFA portal
– Purchase official hospitality package
– Find a 3rd party vendor that partners with MATCH Hospitality (mentioned in link above)
– Hope to find someone with an available guest ticket to the final that wants to add you as their guest
That said, the Finals have been “Sold Out” since Phase 1. It is in theory possible that tickets will show up for Final in the Resale Portal but that is incredibly unlikely.
All in all, that’s to say you likely missed your window as the World Cup Finals is the most coveted ticket in the sporting world and unless there’s a connection to one of the official partners or packages, it is unlikely to receive a ticket. Lastly, seats aren’t assigned until much closer to the tournament and are at random. As you’ll read about the ticket phases in first link above, you’ll see you can only but in 3 Categories and then find out your seat later.
Regardless, wishing you luck in your quest!
We applied in the first phase for team package. Unfortunately Italy did not qualify but we already paid for the team package.
Now When we log into portal it doesn’t let us select another option.
How does this process work?
Andrea! First, I am sorry that Italy is out of the tournament. 😔
It took a bit of digging but it appears your ticket will be refunded, less 40 QAR. We can’t post images in replies here but took a screenshot and posted on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/world_cup_guide/status/1511539354656808964?s=21&t=MwVZTJ2Mq2VdzkrO8T8i7Q
Hi,
Thank you so much for building this community. It will be my first time going to the World Cup and wanted to ask you… Based on your experience are there generally leftover tickets in the Last Minute Phase? Just wanted to know if the overall suggestion is to buy tickets as early as possible due to potentially high demand. My country has yet to qualify via the Play-offs!
Hi Martin! Thanks for your note and question! The answer to your question is yes, tickets typically become available in the Last Minute Phase; however, there is zero guarantee that this will occur. Each game is very different (eg – a Brazil game almost never surfaces once sold out) and securing a ticket during last min phase is (typically) difficult. This tournament is very unique though as there’s many questions to lodging and if fans without tickets will even be in attendance, etc and comparing to previous tournaments may be pointless. FIFA typically enables a reselling portal for fans which contributes to tickets for games to appear in Last Minute Phase. (Perhaps there’s fans for the other playoff team that buy tickets, then no longer want to attend if they lose and will resell). You may want to evaluate if you can risk and afford a purchase in Phase 2 vs waiting last minute but that may not be possible since your team isn’t officially qualified. Whatever you decide, best of luck to you and your team and hopefully it all works out!
Thanks for the info! I am looking for 2 side-to-side tickets for a friend and me so perhaps that may make it even more difficult to find in the last minute phase?
If one decides to be in the random draw for tickets how long does FIFA wait for one to pay for these before the order becomes cancelled?
That’s a good question – I’m not sure if you are guaranteed seats next to one another for resale. It likely depends on when seat assignments are allocated and when someone purchases a ticket listed for resale. Seat assignments happen closer to the tournament.
The window for payment is relatively close to the specific phase closing. This enables FIFA to know how many actual tickets were sold at a specific phase. I can’t remember the deadlines from the recent lottery phase but believe it was a 3 week window after the window closed. The most recent phase of first come, first serve, you had to pay on the spot. Hopefully you’re receiving all the information you need to come up with your strategy!
I really really forgot to book for tickets in phase I…will i be able to book the tickets in future?
Hello! No worries about missing Phase 1 – you will be able to apply in Phase 2 and 3. Phase 2 takes place after the draw so we’ll see exactly who plays who and where. The draw is due to take place on April 1 so perhaps April 2 or around then, the next phase will open. You can read more here. Good luck!
Question: If i apply for two tickets for the Final will I have more chance of being successful rather than if i applied for six tickets???
Hi Faraz – that’s a good question. I wish I knew the algorithm behind a lottery. It would seem like yes, your chances would be increased if you think about it from the lens of allocating tickets and as an algorithm progresses through availability and 5 tickets remain, anyone that requested > 5 would be omitted from the consideration. I think it is important, and this is just personal opinion, to apply for the tickets that matter to you the most. If you are applying to 6 because you have a group applying, maybe it is best you all request individually to increase chances and then use the group code to try and sit next to one another if everyone is allocated tickets. Here’s a published thesis from 1995 from a MIT student that illustrates the complexities and options with lottery allocation algorithms. In truth, we have no idea what FIFA has implemented.
Either way – that’s awesome you’re going for the Finals and best of luck in obtaining those! If anyone has competing or complimenting insight to this, please do not hesitate to add to the convo.
I have applied to multiple tickets for the fifa world cup in order to increase my chances. If selected , do I have to pay for all of the tickets or only the matches which I want to go ?
You get charged for all the tickets you’re selected for. That said you can resell your ticket through the FIFA platform (typically) and they’ll take a small % as a restocking fee. I assume this year will follow that format as it helps prevent black market trading, to an extent.
Dear World Cup Guide, with reference to the above q&a in January, I was wondering about the following: a) what if each person from a group of 6 makes a separate ticket application for 6 tickets for the same match in order to maximise the likelihood of being allocated b) and e.g. 3 of the 6 applications are fully successful in the draw and get allocated after May 31st c) isn’t it then possible that only 1 of the 3 persons makes the full payment for the tickets, while the 2 others simply refuse to make the payment? This would seem as an easier solution rather than paying for tickets and then asking Fifa to resell them. The basic question is therefore: If a ticket application is successful, is the applicant then able to refuse to pay for the tickets, i.e. refuse the entire allocation of tickets for a single application? I will appreciate your opinion very much!
Hi Stefan! That’s an interesting scenario for sure and I hope there aren’t many people in similar situations as that delays the availability, haha. But yes, your logic sounds legit to me depending on when the specific phase and payment. I do know that in Phase 1 if you haven’t paid by X date, then the tickets were forfeited from your possession. In your hypothetical scenario, it seems you have a good chance of attending so if it comes to fruition – have a great time!
Many thanks for your prompt answer! The scenario I described to you was merely hypothetical and i wouldn’t necessarily go through that much trouble in applying for tickets either, but then i realised that since Fifa requires the names of all ticket holders including passport nrs and dates of birth, if one would apply such a tactic, would probably get caught of making multiple applications for a single number of tickets. In any case, i made a single application for 5 tickets to 1 game and am now awaiting the outcome no earlier than May 31st. Best regards Stefan
🙂 We wish you luck, Stefan! Feel free to drop us a note if there’s any topic that needs more details or a new topic that hasn’t been covered!