FIFA is using a bizarre tactic to sell World Cup tickets
The soccer world’s governing body is trying out some interesting tactics to sell tickets to the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.
And with games being held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, FIFA appears to be trying to entice fans with another one of their marquee events taking place across the U.S. this summer.
And if you end up buying certain ticket packs for the Club World Cup, you’ll get an exclusive opportunity to check out games at the FIFA World Cup next summer, as discovered by The Times‘ Martyn Ziegler.
“To celebrate two incredible summers of soccer, eligible purchasers of a FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ Ticket Pack or Super Ticket Pack will get a guaranteed opportunity to purchase one ticket to a FIFA World Cup 2026™ match held in the United States,” a page on FIFA’s website reads.
A Ticket Pack is a two-game package, with fans required to actually attend the games themselves in order to qualify for the FIFA World Cup window.
The cheapest tickets for Club World Cup games as part of the ticket package appear to be select matches involving non-marquee teams, starting at US$40 per match per person and going up to as much as US$115 as a get-in price for matches with some of the world’s biggest teams.
While it’s a little more complicated and potentially a few hundred dollars more to get the rights to buy FIFA World Cup tickets, it’s not even close to as egregious as the Super Ticket Pack option that gets you the opportunity to buy FIFA World Cup final tickets.
Instead of three or four games, the Super Ticket option comes with tickets to 20 different matches. That’s nearly one-third of the tournament, with no city having more than nine matches. You’d be jet-setting all over the country to make the schedule work, with only 22 match days in total.
While the FIFA World Cup final is many fans’ dream ticket, the month-long road trip a year prior to the event doesn’t exactly seem like the best way to secure them.
What exactly is the FIFA Club World Cup?
In theory, the Club World Cup is a soccer fan’s dream: the best teams from all around the world going up against each other.
In practice, it’s been a bit of a strange event since its inception in 2000. European sides have won 16 of the 20 tournaments, while South American teams have won the other four.
Given the influx of money and influence that European teams have on the global soccer landscape, the world’s best club team is usually already crowned as the UEFA Champions League winners, a far more prestigious and celebrated competition despite it only being limited to one continent’s teams.
Previous editions of the event included just the winners of each confederation’s continental trophy, with seven teams competing in the last one in 2023 in an all-knockout format.
This year’s tournament is the first under a new 32-team format planned to be played every four years, though that’s also been heavily scrutinized for many reasons, including the added matches to an already crowded club soccer schedule.
Given that FIFA is luring fans to buy a 20-ticket package (or a two-match package) with the promise of having the chance to buy World Cup tickets down the line, it doesn’t exactly seem like sales have been going all that well.
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami’s inclusion raised some red flags as well. Miami was included for being a “host” team of the tournament, despite the fact that CONCACAF already had four allocated slots and no other American teams were granted automatic entry. FIFA claimed Miami was picked by winning last season’s MLS Supporters’ Shield — a regular season title — though the actual 2024 MLS Cup winners in the LA Galaxy were not invited.
What if I just want World Cup tickets in Canada?
Seven matches will be held in Vancouver, while six will be held in Toronto.
World Cup tickets in Canada will primarily be sold via at least two seperate lottery systems: one through FIFA for all matches, and an additional one through Canada Soccer for games involving the host team.
While the schedule for the matches in both cities is out, more details on both lotteries are expected to be announced later this year.