World Cup organisers have introduced a new budget ticket option for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, following widespread criticism over the cost of attending matches.
FIFA announced on Tuesday that a limited number of “Supporter Entry Tier” tickets will be available at $60 for all 104 matches, including the final.
The football governing body said the initiative is “designed to further support travelling fans following their national teams across the tournament.”
The $60 tickets, equivalent to 51 euros, will be reserved for supporters of qualified teams and will account for 10 percent of each national federation’s allocation.
Fan group Football Supporters Europe, which last week described the original pricing as “extortionate” and “astronomical,” said FIFA’s offer fell short. “While we welcome FIFA’s seeming recognition of the damage its original plans were to cause, the revisions do not go far enough,” FSE said on Tuesday.
Previously, FSE argued that ticket prices for 2026 were nearly five times higher than those for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, calling the pricing “a monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup.” “If a supporter were to follow their team from the first match to the final it would cost them a minimum of $6,900,” the group said, adding that organisers had promised tickets starting at $21 in a 2018 bid document.
On Tuesday, FSE described FIFA’s partial rollback as an “appeasement tactic” in response to global criticism.
“This shows that FIFA’s ticketing policy is not set in stone, was decided in a rush, and without proper consultation — including with FIFA’s own member associations,” the group added.
FSE also warned that only a small number of fans per match and team would benefit from the $60 tickets, while the majority would still face “extortionate prices, way higher than at any tournament before.” The group further criticised the lack of arrangements for supporters with disabilities and their companions.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed FSE’s concerns, saying FIFA’s new ticket category “did not go far enough.
“I welcome FIFA’s announcement of some lower priced supporters tickets,” Starmer wrote on X. “But as someone who used to save up for England tickets, I encourage FIFA to do more to make tickets more affordable so that the World Cup doesn’t lose touch with the genuine supporters who make the game so special.”
FIFA said that national federations “are requested to ensure that these tickets are specifically allocated to loyal fans who are closely connected to their national teams.” The organisation also confirmed that if fans purchase tickets for knockout-round games but their team is eliminated earlier, “the administrative fee [will be] waived when refunds are processed.”
The announcement comes amid massive global demand, with 20 million ticket requests already submitted. The first-round ticket draw for all price categories will take place on Tuesday, January 13.
