The excitement surrounding the 2026 World Cup has reached unprecedented heights, with fans from across the globe flooding FIFA with ticket requests. Within the first half of the random selection ticketing phase, nearly 150 million applications have already been submitted for the tournament, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
According to FIFA, the demand in the opening phase alone is more than 30 times higher than the number of tickets available, highlighting a level of interest never before seen in World Cup history. Ticket sales officially began on December 11, and the response has already surpassed that of all previous editions.
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅,” 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑨 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑮𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊 𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
Infantino Calls Fan Frenzy Proof of Football’s Global Power
FIFA confirmed that ticket applications were submitted using personal credit cards and poured in from over 200 countries within just 15 days. Infantino described the overwhelming response as a powerful signal of football’s unmatched global appeal.
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒆𝒗“𝑻𝒉𝒆 2026 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑨 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓. 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 150 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆,” 𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅.𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅,” 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑨 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑮𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊 𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
He added that the upcoming tournament is poised to make history in North America, uniting fans from every corner of the world through the game.
A Record-Breaking World Cup Tournament on the Horizon
Statistics already suggest that the 2026 World Cup will be unlike any before it. The current demand for tickets has exceeded the total attendance of all World Cups since 1930 combined several times.
The expanded tournament will feature 48 teams, 104 matches, and games hosted across 16 cities in the three North American countries. The random selection draw phase, which began on November 11, will remain open until January 13.
FIFA has clarified that application timing does not affect selection, as all valid entries are treated equally. Fans who miss out in this phase will still have opportunities in later ticket sales, with additional phases scheduled ahead of the opening match on June 11, 2026.
Also Read: Security Alert: Barcelona Shirt Prohibited at Rival Stadiums
