Even as World Cup ticket prices continue to soar, fans have submitted roughly 5 million ticket requests in the first 24 hours since FIFA’s third phase of ticket sales opened on Thursday, the sport’s governing body has announced.
According to FIFA, fans from more than 200 countries have submitted ticket requests to attend next summer’s competition, with many more likely over the next month. This third phase of sales will remain open until Jan. 13.
Fans from the three host nations, the United States, Mexico and Canada, are leading the way as far as interest goes, FIFA said. Supporters from Colombia, England, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Scotland, Germany, Australia, France and Panama round out the top ten nations where fans have submitted the most requests to attend matches next year.
According to FIFA, the most sought-after match in the group stage, so far, is the June 27 clash between Colombia and Portugal at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The first match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., between Brazil and Morocco on June 13, is the second most sought-after.
The next most requested matches after those two are: Mexico and Korea Republic in Guadalajara on June 18; Ecuador and Germany in New Jersey on June 25; and Scotland-Brazil in Miami on June 24.
It’s no surprise that millions of fans have raced to submit their ticket requests during this period, which is essentially their chance at purchasing the most affordable tickets to next summer’s World Cup. The secondary resale market is already featuring astronomical prices that far exceed the already steep prices seen in FIFA’s third phase of sales.
It’s unclear, however, how many individual tickets were requested in this third phase of ticket sales, as fans can request up to four tickets for each match they hope to attend.
A FIFA spokesperson confirmed to The Athletic that the 5 million figure equates to 5 million ticket requests. Assuming that the average number of tickets requested per application is more than two — as it was for the 2018 and 2022 men’s World Cups — the five million requests equate to more than 10 million total tickets requested, or more than 100,000 tickets per match on average.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal’s clash with Colombia is currently the most sought-after World Cup ticket. (Seb Daly / Sportsfile via Getty Images)
With nearly 2 million tickets already sold in two early sales phases, less than 5 million tickets remain available.
The per-match numbers, though, are likely skewed heavily toward high-demand matches like Portugal-Colombia and those featuring marquee teams.
FIFA has not shared whether fans are more interested in matches in the group stage matches or the knock-out rounds, or how the fan interest fully breaks down. A FIFA spokesperson declined to comment further regarding those details when reached by The Athletic.
Fans have until Jan. 13 to submit their interest during this phase of ticket sales, which opened Thursday. Fans will enter a lottery and are selected at random. Those who are chosen will be notified at a later date if their purchases were successful.
FIFA has repeatedly said the timing of a ticketing request will have no bearing on whether a fan is successful in purchasing a ticket or not.