The ticket window for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is about to open. Here’s how it works.

FIFA has released new details on how it will begin selling tickets for next year's World Cup.

Buying tickets for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is going to take patience, research and a lot of luck. And the ticket window is about to begin.

From Sept. 10-19, Visa cardholders can enter a pre-sale draw covering all 104 games for the expanded 48-team tournament, which is being co-hosted by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

The FIFA lottery is worldwide, with the pre-sale — Visa is a FIFA World Cup partner — to be followed by “multiple additional” ticket phases.

It is one of three ways Canadians can get tickets.

In addition to hospitality packages (already available), which range in price from $2,500 for a single-game package to the sky’s the limit for bespoke experiences, Canadians will also be able to enter a separate lottery for a shot at Canada Soccer’s ticket allotment for Canada’s games. To do that, you have to be a member of the CanadaRed supporters group, with details on timing to come.

When the Visa pre-sale window closes, a random draw will be held. Those applicants lucky enough to be drawn will be notified by email by Sept. 29, complete with a dedicated date and time slot (from Oct. 1 to 21) to go online and buy tickets, subject to availability.

Those interested in the pre-sale have to first register with FIFA, be 18 or older (and have a Visa card). Other payment options are allowed for subsequent ticket windows

The cheapest ticket for group-stage matches will be US$60, the lowest of four price categories — and farthest from the field. That ranges all the way to US$6,730 for the most expensive ticket for the championship game.

FIFA cautions, however, that these are the prices at the outset of ticket sales and will change subject to demand, including during the pre-sale. So expect prices to rise.

Fans will be able to purchase up to four tickets per game — for up to 10 matches. So a maximum of 40 tickets.

With the full tournament landscape not known until the Dec. 5 draw in Washington, D.C., the initial pre-sale will be somewhat blind in terms of who plays where, other than the already announced location of the host teams’ group-stage games (Canada opens July 12 in Toronto before moving to Vancouver for July 18 and 24 games).

Still, fans can apply in the pre-sale for generic single-match tickets, venue-specific tickets (Toronto is hosting six games in total, with Vancouver staging seven) and team-specific tickets (a package that includes the three group-stage matches for a specific side).

The initial Visa pre-sale draw will involve approximately one million tickets. FIFA has not provided a number on the total tickets that will be available for the tournament.

The pre-sale will be followed by an “Early Ticket Draw, whose registration window is expected to run Oct. 27-31, with timeslots for purchase from mid-November to early December.

Other windows will follow in the first two quarters of 2026, with fans able to apply for specific matches with the knowledge of who plays where.

Canadians fans will be able to apply for Canada games through the FIFA draw (although they will not be seated in the Canadian supporters’ section at the stadium). Fans of other countries can buy a team-specific package and get a refund in case their team doesn’t qualify.

FIFA also plans to launch its own resale platform for tickets.

Canada Soccer has yet to provide timing details of its ticket lottery via its revamped CanadaRed program, which is an expanded version of the one used to distribute Canada game tickets at the 2022 tournament in Qatar — the Canadian men’s first trip to the soccer showcase since 1986.

There are seven tiers, ranging from free to $5,000 a year, with tax receipts available for the charitable component of each contribution. A separate lottery will be held for each of Canada’s matches, with an equal number of tickets assigned to a draw at each CanadaRed tier. Members unsuccessful in the lottery at their level become eligible for the lottery at lower tiers.

In other words, the higher the tier, the better the odds of getting a ticket — and the more perks.

Canada Soccer gets eight percent of the “purchasable inventory” for each Canada game at the World Cup, distributed across different price categories.

With a tournament capacity of 45,000 for BMO Field and 54,000 for B.C. Place, eight percent translates to 3,600 and 4,320, respectively. But the number available for Canadians in the CanadaRed lottery will be smaller, with tickets earmarked for FIFA, sponsors, media and premium hospitality packages cutting into inventory.

CanadaRed members will be able to request conditional tickets for possible Canada knockout-round games.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2025

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press