International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced Wednesday that it has received more than 500 million ticket requests for this year’s World Cup.
Soccer’s organising body said that fans from Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Colombia submitted the most requests outside the three host nations: the United States, Mexico and Canada.
FIFA is charging up to $8,680 per ticket. After facing criticism, the organisation announced last month it will offer $60 tickets for every game to the 48 national federations in the tournament.
The federations will decide how to distribute these tickets to their fans who attended previous games.
The most-requested match in the third sales phase, which ran from December 11 through Tuesday, was Colombia vs. Portugal on June 27 at Miami Gardens, Florida.
The next most popular matches were Mexico vs. South Korea on June 18 in Guadalajara, Mexico; the final on July 19 at East Rutherford, New Jersey; the opener between Mexico and South Africa on June 11 at Mexico City; and a second-round match on July 2 at Toronto.
“Knowing how much this tournament means to people around the world, our only regret is that we cannot welcome every fan inside the stadiums,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
“That is why we are committed to creating multiple ways for fans to be part of the FIFA World Cup 2026 – through a wide range of fan experiences beyond the stadiums, both in person and online – so that as many people as possible can share in what will be the biggest sporting event ever staged,” he added.
FIFA will notify applicants about their ticket status no earlier than February 5. The organisation will allocate tickets randomly for matches where demand exceeds availability.