FIFA faces further backlash after more World Cup 2026 tickets released for $10,990

FIFA is releasing more World Cup 2026 tickets after some fans were upset about new, more expensive ticket categories.

On Tuesday, FIFA announced it would make more tickets available for fans to buy from Wednesday, April 22 at 11am EDT (15pm GMT) for all 104 games in Categories 1, 2, and 3.

There will also be new ‘front category’ pricing added this month. However, this new category has led to an outcry from fans who claimed better seats in the categories they had purchased tickets for had been withheld, leading to them being assigned less impressive locations.

FIFA ticket categories explained

• Category 1: The highest-priced seats, located primarily in the lower tier
• Category 2: Positioned outside of Category 1 areas, available in both lower and upper tiers
• Category 3: Located outside of Category 1 and 2 areas, typically in the upper tier
• Category 4: The most affordable category, located outside of Categories 1–3, and positioned in the upper tier

In December, FIFA sold tickets at prices ranging from $140 for Category 3 in the first round, rising to $8,680 for the final. It then reportedly raised prices to as much as $10,990 when sales reopened on April 1.

(Michael Regan - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

The price for the final had been $8,680 when FIFA sold the tickets in December.

UNILAD has contacted FIFA for comment.

That expansion of pricing means that while more tickets are technically available, many of them sit at the upper end of the affordability scale, reinforcing concerns that fans are being priced out of attending.

Rising category 1 ticket prices for World Cup fans

Earlier this month, ESPN reported that fans were faced with paying up to $4,105 for front Category 1 seats at the US opener against Paraguay in Inglewood, California, on June 12.

This came around the same time FIFA introduced additional high-priced seating options, including 'front' category 1 tickets costing as much as $3,360 for Canada’s opening match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 in Toronto.

The governing body also expanded its pricing for knockout fixtures, adding seats priced around $905 for round-of-16 matches in Philadelphia, another sign of how even mid-stage games are being pushed into higher brackets.

FIFA boss Gianni Infantino (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Prices have climbed across other categories for the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, too. Category 2 tickets were listed at $7,380, up from $5,575, while category 3 seats grew to $5,785 from $4,185.

The World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19 in 16 cities in the US, Mexico and Canada.

What has FIFA president Gianni Infantino said about the pricing?

Infantino has insisted that every match of the 2026 World Cup tournament will be 'sold out', pointing to huge global demand even as criticism over rising ticket prices continues.

"The demand is there. Every match is sold out," Infantino told CNBC in an interview in February.

The price of tickets is part of a wider concern about the cost of attending the games this summer. This month, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill urged FIFA to cover the World Cup transport costs amid plans for train fairs to rise by a staggering 775 percent during the tournament.