analysis
For the world football association FIFA, it is the next celebration to let the 2026 World Cup shine in XXL format.
More than half a billion ticket requests were submitted worldwide for the ticket sales period for the final tournament (June 11 to July 19). That doesn’t mean that 500 million people want to attend the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the USA, because everyone could apply for multiple games. But the huge interest is undisputed.
Fourth greatest interest from Germany
As expected, the greatest demand came from the host countries USA, Mexico and Canada. This is followed by Germany, then England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Colombia. The German Football Association (DFB) announced on Thursday that FIFA had received more than 63,000 ticket applications for the German fan block alone.
“We are also surprised by the great interest. Especially since not only the prices for the tickets are exorbitant, but also for the accommodation.”says Thomas Vorberger of the Sportschau. The 63-year-old is a member of the board of the Handicap Fan Club National Team eV (HFCFN), which was founded in 2006, and is also responsible for the distribution of World Cup tickets for disabled people in the organization.
High profit margins on resale
One reason for the great demand is of course the new format: Because 48 teams and three major hosts are playing this time, more spectators are inevitably flocking to the stadiums. 130 million people live in Mexico alone, and 347 million in the USA.
But there could be another reason why ticket requests from all 211 FIFA member countries have reached new dimensions: because the legal resale of World Cup tickets also offers private individuals a lucrative business. At the 2026 World Cup, FIFA will be operating an official resale/exchange marketplace for eligible ticket holders for the first time. Tickets for the World Cup games as an investment item?
South and Central American give “house and yard”
This thesis is confirmed by fan experts at the sports show. Anyone who buys a ticket now necessarily does not have to be a stadium visitor. There are supposedly high profit margins, especially in games with South American participation or the three hosts.
Vorberger has been to every World Cup tournament since 2006 and stayed until the finals at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The fan club representative who works for Werder Bremen has experienced, especially South and Central American Sell supporters “Haus und Hof” in order to experience their national teams live at these tournaments. In this respect, it is understandable why such games are again in the most demand.
Most people want to see Colombia against Portugal
According to FIFA, the most popular match was the game between Colombia and Portugal (June 27) in Miami. Other ticket orders include the encounter between Mexico and South Korea on Thursday, June 18th in Guadalajara, the final (July 19th) in New York/New Jersey, the opening game between Mexico and South Africa (June 11th) in Mexico City and the round of 16 game (July 2nd) in Toronto – Colombia could also be involved here.
FIFA justifies the exchange marketplace to protect fans from invalid or unauthorized resales or exchanges. But the world association also has financial intentions because it collects 15 percent of the sales price and thus earns twice as much on many cards.
German contingent also overbooked
Many more fans from Germany also want to be there than at the last tournaments in Russia in 2018 and in Qatar in 2022. In general, the DFB, like all other associations, has eight percent of the tickets available per game. Specifically, this means: For the first group game against Curacao in Houston (June 14th) there are 4,307 tickets, for the second game against the Ivory Coast in Toronto (June 20th) there are 2,452 and against Ecuador in New Jersey (June 25th) there are 4,826 tickets.
There are more than 15,000 German interested parties for the last game against Ecuador, and according to the DFB there are also 15,000 inquiries for the second game against Ivory Coast. “For all group games as well as for a possible round of 16 and a possible round of 16 with German participation, demand significantly exceeds the ticket continents allocated to the DFB,” said the association. 30 percent of the ticket quota goes to the independent fan clubs. 166 of around 800 fan clubs have expressed interest in tickets.
The majority of the remaining tickets go to the national team fan club; preference is given to supporters with a high bonus point, i.e. frequent travelers. A part will also be raffled off among the German fan base. Vorberger can imagine that many people want to combine a US tour with attending several World Cup games, “Even if it’s not cheap“.
FIFA will announce the decision on February 5th
Interested parties will receive an email from FIFA on February 5th as to whether they will receive a ticket. The money is then deducted from the credit card that each applicant had to deposit. According to FIFA, this is what the survey is based on. On average, 15 million ticket applications were received every day. “This is absolutely unique in the history of sport”said the press release.
But this uniqueness could also have something to do with business interests. Against this background, FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s cheering choruses must be put into perspective. “Half a billion ticket applications in just over a month is not only enormous demand, but a global statement. On behalf of FIFA, I would like to thank and congratulate football fans from all over the world for this unique response.”said the Swiss had already taken self-dramatization to the extreme at the World Cup draw.