Fifa to use dynamic pricing for World Cup ticket sales with seats starting at US$60

LOS ANGELES – Dynamic pricing will be in operation during the first phase of ticket sales for the 2026 World Cup, with fans paying different prices according to market demand and seats starting at US$60 (S$77), Fifa said on Sept 3.

Fans will have their first chance to secure tickets for the Finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico during the Visa Pre-sale Draw, opening on Sept 10, at 11am Eastern Time (11pm, Singapore time) and running until Sept 19.

Open to qualifying Visa cardholders, tickets for group-stage matches will start at US$60 (S$77), with pricing for later stages, including the final, reaching up to US$6,730, Fifa said.

“We have approximately 1 million tickets available for the first Visa pre-sale draw phase,” Falk Eller, Fifa’s director of ticketing and hospitality, told reporters.

However, he added that prices would vary based on market demand, a strategy known as dynamic pricing or surge pricing.

Dynamic pricing is commonly seen in airline ticket prices and hotel room rates during holiday seasons, and very often, it has no benefits to the consumer.

For instance, there were complaints from fans of British band Oasis who waited in long queues to get their hands on tickets for the 2025 reunion shows, only to find that prices had been hiked as part of a “dynamic pricing” scheme.

The Visa pre-sale will be followed by additional sales phases later in the year.

Qualifying Visa cardholders can enter the pre-sale draw by logging into their Fifa accounts during the entry period.

A randomised selection will allocate time slots for ticket purchases, though Fifa emphasised that a successful draw entry did not guarantee ticket availability.

Those selected through the randomised draw will have to then apply to purchase tickets starting Oct 1.

Sales will be capped at four tickets per person per match, and no person can purchase more than 40 for the entire tournament.

The governing body also plans to introduce an official resale platform later in 2025, allowing ticket holders to resell their tickets securely.

Eller noted that prices on the resale platform would not be capped, citing the need to compete with unofficial resale outlets and ensure a regulated environment.

For Mexican residents, Fifa has partnered with Profeco to offer a resale platform that complies with local legislation, allowing tickets to be sold at their original face value.

Fifa also said it planned to offer additional products such as supporter tickets for fans who want to sit with others backing the same team, and conditional supporter tickets for fans who want to reserve a place in potential knockout rounds.

Meanwhile, in other news, Fifa has blocked Athletic Bilbao from signing defender Aymeric Laporte, the Spanish club said on Sept 3.

The Basque side said they tried to sign the Spaniard on Sept 1 from Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, but it could not be completed for “external factors beyond (Bilbao’s) control”, with Spanish media saying the paperwork was submitted late.

The Spanish federation asked Fifa to grant an exception for Laporte’s move but Bilbao said they were informed that the organisation had denied the request.

Bilbao said they were “studying all possibilities within the existing legal framework” to still try and bring in Laporte, but if they could not, then the agreements with the player and Al-Nassr will be voided.

Laporte, 31, left Bilbao for Manchester City in 2018 before joining Al-Nassr in 2023. The Spain centre-back previously played for France’s youth teams. REUTERS, AFP