Everyone wants a ticket to a game, but how do you acquire a ticket? How much does it cost? Are there any stipulations?
We address all of these common questions below…if we missed one, let us know!
- Current World Cups Details
- 2026 USA / Mexico / Canada
- 2022 Qatar
- 2023 Australia/New Zealand
- In General, How do you purchase tickets?
- FIFA Account
- Official Way #1 – FIFA’s Website
- Official Way #2 – Travel/Hospitality/Corporate Affiliates
- Official Way #3 – Team Federations
- Official Way #4 – Official Sponsorship/Corporations
- Unofficial / Unauthorized Way / Blackmarket
- How much does a ticket cost?
- Explaining Categories
- Actual Tournament Ticket Pricing Examples
- When Do Tickets Go On Sale?
- USA / Canada Mexico 2026 Note:
- 2023 Details
- 2022 Details
- How many tickets can one person purchase?
- If I buy tickets, can I resell them without risking a penalty?
- Do I need my passport or ID to enter the game?
- I Bought Tickets – Now What?
- Parting Words
Current World Cups Details
2026 USA / Mexico / Canada
You can find our 2026 specific article here.
The above link will detail the 2026 tournament and answer:
- When do 2026 World Cup Tickets go on sale?
- How do I purchase 2026 World Cup tickets specifically
- What are the phases and timelines of 2026 World Cup tickets?
- etc
Also:
- Read below to educate yourself on how the process typically works and see live examples from tournaments past as we are quite passionate about this topic!
- Come back to visit as we’ll likely see packages with Roadtrips and Generation adidas International again!
- Have a comment or question or want us to put you in touch with a package provider, send us a message!
2022 Qatar
You can review specifics on how Qatar 2022 tickets were allocated here.
Worth noting that Roadtrips and Generation adidas International had some interesting tour packageswith discounts for mentioning us or receiving an introduction.
Have a comment or want to say hi, send us a message!
2023 Australia/New Zealand
You can review specifics on how Australia / New Zealand 2023 tickets were allocated & priced here.
Worth noting that Roadtrips and Generation adidas International had some interesting tour packages again with discounts for mentioning us or receiving an introduction.
In General, How do you purchase tickets?
FIFA Account
First and foremost, you’ll need a FIFA account for most actions in the tournament. This is a heads up to be ready to create a password and enter other account details.
When you navigate to FIFA’s ticket section, find the appropriate tournament and you’ll be prompted to create an account. We used to link to this account creation specifically but FIFA has changed their site around so this is the best we can do at the moment.
Once you’re done with an account, educate yourself below on the 4 official ways to buy a ticket officially + black market:
Official Way #1 – FIFA’s Website
Type of Ticket Purchase
You can first determine what type of ticket you want to purchase. The types are explained below.
- Team Specific
- You commit to a specific team and should they qualify, you receive tickets to the team’s matches, wherever and whenever they play.
- Typically, this is only during Phase 1, except for hospitality packages (see below)
- Stadium Specific
- You commit to a specific stadium and then receive tickets to whatever teams are assigned to play at whatever time.
- Typically, this is only during Phase 1, except for hospitality packages (see below)
- Individual Tickets
- You commit to a specific match.
- As you’ll see in the Phases below, you will not know the teams in Phase 1 but will know after the draw, which is typically the start of Phase 2.
Typical Setup
Yes, FIFA’s official website is the place to make a purchase. There are typically multiple “Phases” for a purchase:
- Phase 1 is a random lottery before the teams are even known
- Phase 2 is a first come, first serve after the draw
- Phase 3 is a random lottery
- Phase 4 is typically the last phase and first come, first serve
The biggest pro to obtaining a ticket this official route – it is official and you are guaranteed entry.
Buying Multiple Tickets
When applying for tickets, the person applying is the “Main Applicant” and additional tickets are considered “Guests”. It is important you understand this as you can change your guests but NOT the “main applicant”. FIFA does scan a Fan ID and Match Ticket upon entering a stadium.
So if you have a group of 4 that wants to go, you can apply for 4 tickets. You will be the “main applicant” and the other 3 will be “guests”. The “main applicant” later has the responsibility of sending the tickets to their guests.
Choosing Seat Location
You CANNOT choose your specific seat when purchasing tickets. Whether you bought tickets in the Random Lottery Phase or in First Come, First Serve Phase, seats are allocated weeks before the tournament starts.
Allocation of where you sit is based on what CATEGORY of ticket you purchase. Read below in the “Explaining Categories” section for more.
Australia / New Zealand 2023 Ticket Phases
The Women’s World Cup in Australia & New Zealand has 3 phases.
Qatar 2022 Ticket Phases
Qatar 2022 will have 3 “Phases” but Phase 2 is split into 2 sub-phases so it is essentially the same idea.
Official Way #2 – Travel/Hospitality/Corporate Affiliates
General Hospitality Comments:
FIFA has their official hospitality, MATCH Hospitality, which operates sites for the Men’s World Cup as well as the Women’s World Cup.
Think of this as a way to skip the Sales Phases and get a guaranteed ticket. You pay a premium on this of course but it isn’t as bad as paying as much as people are willing to pay on the black market. For example, in Qatar, the least expensive package was $950 USD per person per match ticket. For the 2023 Women’s tournament, it is about $200 USD for a hospitality ticket per person.
MATCH can also subcontract hospitality packages to regional vendors but be careful to vet anyone who claims to be a ticket provider.
If you have questions about this, send us a message to [email protected] and we’ll try to assist.
Other Packages:
The corporate sponsors for the a World Cup may also execute their own packages. For Qatar 2022, you could also purchase an official package via Qatar Airways.
There’s also creative packages from vendors like Generation adidas International which had a 2023 package. For connections to this group and RoadTrips, send us a message to [email protected] and we can put you in touch.
Corporate Sponsor Ticket Inventory:
Lastly, corporate sponsors will manage their own ticket inventory. They are technically not allowed to resell tickets but we’ve certainly seen promises from people on Facebook.
Official Way #3 – Team Federations
Each Football/Soccer Association is allocated tickets as well.
The allocation to their fans and supporters groups is handled by each federation individually and you’ll want to be in touch with your Federation for details.
The federations may also host competitions or work with a vendor to organize packages.
Official Way #4 – Official Sponsorship/Corporations
Sponsors & Corporations will of course have allocated tickets to dole out to a lucky few
Contact us if you have a story to share here!
Also, it is quite common for sponsors to launch contests or packages.
Unofficial / Unauthorized Way / Blackmarket
Buyer BEWARE. FIFA states that the “unauthorised transfer, resale or further use of Tickets is a violation of the General Terms and Conditions for the Use of Tickets.”
With that said, there will be plenty of opportunity to take the risk online or in person at the event. There seems to be as many successful stories as there are horror stories (arrested, fake tickets, robbery, etc). The choice and subsequent consequence is yours to make and own.
The most common question is “Can I buy a ticket on Stubhub” (or related 3rd party vendor)?
Read above first and foremost. These are likely “guest tickets” of someone that purchased. If you ignore the FIFA regulations and go this route, do know that your success of receiving tickets is completely dependent on a stranger sending you the tickets once available – and that may not be until weeks before the tournament.
Plus, FIFA allows a “resale portal” where anyone unable to attend the tournament can post their tickets for resale and the price remains the same for the next buyer who then buys an official ticket and the seller is refunded. See below for more details.
How much does a ticket cost?
Tickets to Group Matches are surprisingly affordable – compared to what you may imagine. The real trick of the trade is applying ahead of time so you don’t have to fight the crowds over a nosebleed seat online.
Explaining Categories
Also – tickets are broken down into CATEGORIES. These categories are based on positioning relative to the field and NOT how close someone is, so yes, that means, you may pay less money to sit front row (but be behind the goal) than sitting in the last row of the stadium (but be positioned at midfield).
- Category 1 = between the 18s (i.e. middle of the field)
- Category 2 = endline to 18 (i.e. at corners)
- Category 3 = behind the goal (i.e. well…behind the goal)
- Category 4 = if it exists, it is reserved for residents of the country
See an example layout of Categories at Stadium 974 for Qatar.
Actual Tournament Ticket Pricing Examples
Australia New Zealand 2023 Price Details
Starts at $20 AUD for adults! Read more here.
In fact, we purchased two tickets to the 2023 Women’s World Cup FINAL for only $25 USD each!
Don’t miss out, educate yourself and apply.
Qatar 2022 Price Details
For updates, check our specific site as mentioned here. A quick summary is below.
All prices shown below are in QAR (Qatari Rial).
A quick site for conversion to your local currency is https://www.oanda.com/currency-converter.
For comparison to USD, every 100 QAR is approximately $27 USD (per January 19th, 2022). Use the link or your own source as currencies are a fluid value.
Russia 2018 Price Details
Russia 2018 to provide helpful information.
“Three categories of tickets were available, with Category 1 the most expensive.
The cheapest seats, Category 3, cost $105 for group stage matches, to $175 for the quarter-finals and $455 for the final. Category 1 seats cost between $550 in the group stage and $1,100 for the final.”
What does this mean?
An OFFICIAL match ticket was as cheap as $105 and potentially FRONT ROW OF A FINAL was $1,100!
When Do Tickets Go On Sale?
USA / Canada Mexico 2026 Note:
Read our 2026 specific article!
That said, 2025 is when they’ll likely go on sale but read up for more details.
2023 Details
Read here to review Australia / New Zealand 2023.
2022 Details
Read here to review Qatar’s details.
How many tickets can one person purchase?
For Qatar 2022, it is 60 total tickets across 6 games.
For Australia / New Zealand 2023, it is 10 tickets/match and 100 max per household.
If I buy tickets, can I resell them without risking a penalty?
Yes! But…there’s a few things you should know. We posted more about Qatar reselling here.
Also, read above on the black market.
Little known fact, (in previous tournaments) if you are unable to attend a game, FIFA allows you to re-list these on their site! See Qatar 2022 reselling info as an example.
Why?
The ticket is reallocated to the general public.
Is there a fee to do this?
Of course there is; it is FIFA. It is typically a 5%-10% fee.
You can read more on this directly from FIFA regarding 2014’s policy.
Do I need my passport or ID to enter the game?
You may need a Fan ID.
If you’re wondering if Fan IDs exist for Australia/New Zealand, read here.
If you’re curious about USA/Canada/Mexico 2026, read up on Fan IDs. Since the tournament isn’t quite ready for ticket sales and visitors, the details on immigration and if a Fan ID will be created in addition to or potentially in replacement of, have yet to be determined.
Qatar 2022 rolled out their version of the Fan ID, called the Hay’ya card that was required to enter stadiums.
In both 2018 & 2022, you needed the Fan ID + your match ticket to enter the stadium.
As regulations are released for upcoming tournaments, we’ll update the site but you can also check this article.
I Bought Tickets – Now What?
You’ll want to book your travel; that is your flights, hotels, etc.
Prepare in advance for packing some World Cup viewing essentials.
Start saving $$$ each month for your expenses.
Not sure where to start, check our 7 steps to attending a World Cup as well.
Parting Words
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