FIFA says tickets for the 2026 World Cup will be sold with dynamic pricing, the first time the tournament has used such a system. Reports suggest that the cheapest seats begin at $60 for early group games, while top-tier final tickets launch at $6,730. Prices will rise or fall depending on demand. Sales start with a Visa presale, then roll into lotteries and first-come windows as the schedule takes shape. In FIFA’s own words, the goal is straightforward: bring in record revenue and avoid empty seats.

Sales will kick off with a presale exclusively for Visa cardholders, followed by lotteries and a first-come, first-served system as the match schedule is confirmed. The headline promise from FIFA is simple, maximize revenue and keep stadiums full.

Fans hear something different. FIFA is shifting from custodian to proprietor, absorbing the resale market under an official banner and letting algorithms decide who gets in. The football ritual of buying a ticket at a clear face value gives way to a marketplace where timing and budget trump loyalty.

Price context matters. In 1994, U.S. World Cup tickets ranged from $25 to $475. In 2022, Qatar’s face-value range was about $69 to $1,607. For 2026, the initial spread is far wider, and the mechanism is new. FIFA argues that the model borrows the revenue tactics of airlines and American sports leagues, that prices can move down for soft demand and up for marquee nights, and that a formal resale platform will steer fans away from risky third-party sites.

Recent trends in American sports ticketing show a shift in fan behavior. During the Club World Cup, some tickets dropped from hundreds of dollars to the price of a sandwich, filling empty seats but encouraging buyers to wait for discounts and undermining early loyalty.

As the World Cup approaches, fans face a similar dilemma: buy at a premium or wait for lower prices. This ongoing competition between pricing and loyalty is reshaping how fans attend major events.

Where this lands for the average fan

For locals, Category 4 sections will act as a pressure-release valve, while most inventory will adjust to demand. Expect ticket surges during the hosts’ matches, rivalry games, and knockout rounds, along with price volatility as storylines change. Fans will increasingly treat ticket purchases like a market, deciding whether to buy early, hold through the draw, or wait for a price drop.

There’s also a culture question. The World Cup has long been marketed as a people’s festival, not a luxury box convention. When algorithms set the price of access, the risk is a quieter stadium, fewer supporter groups in prime seats, and a crowd that skews toward corporate clients. FIFA insists the mission is global development funded by record revenue. Many supporters will judge the mission by the sound inside the ground.

It isn’t purely theoretical. The dress rehearsal already happened. Our report on the Club World Cup’s uneasy debut tracked steep last-minute markdowns, student bundles, and large swaths of empty seats despite strong finales. The lesson wasn’t that demand doesn’t exist. It was that mispriced inventory and late discounts reshape behavior.

Practically, the best defense for fans is a good plan. Apply early in lotteries, especially in your host city. If you’re U.S.-based, note that the group-stage draw will shuffle demand. If you’re building a trip around specific teams, keep an eye on the draw show itself, which we covered in Washington, D.C. lands World Cup draw. When the brackets harden, prices will too.

Finally, there’s heat and schedule. Many 2026 venues are summer ovens, and kickoffs will be pushed later where possible. That won’t stop midday demand surges in certain markets, but it will shape which games sell first and which drift. For a deeper look at how climate, timing, and player-safety thresholds collide with ticket value, see Inside the climate battle brewing over World Cup 2026.

What to watch next

• The draw: once match-ups are set, expect immediate repricing on high-interest games.

• The official resale: FIFA’s platform will legitimize above-face resales in the U.S. and Canada. Mexico’s resale, by contrast, will adhere to face-value rules, creating an uneven map for arbitrage.

• Local offers: host committees and cities will quietly run community allocations and last-minute fills. These won’t solve affordability, but they will create pockets of access.

Dynamic pricing might fill stadiums, but FIFA must ensure it doesn’t transform the stands into exclusive VIP areas. If it drives away the passion of the World Cup, the benefits won’t be worth it.