But Fifa did not announce in advance what tickets would be sold, forcing potential buyers to hunt for themselves on an official ticketing website that took many hours to enter.
Some people who logged on for the “last-minute sales phase” when sales opened were directed into a queue for “PMA late qualifier supporters sales phase”, aimed for a segment of fans for the six nations who won play-off ties on Tuesday.
It was the fifth phase of ticket sales following a Visa pre-sale draw from September 10-19, an early ticket draw from October 27-31, a random selection draw from December 11 to January 13 and an unscheduled 48-hour availability in late February.
Fifa said this phase, which will remain open through the tournament, marked the first time a specific seat location could be purchased, rather than a request for a ticket in a category.
For the month-long sales phase after the December 5 draw, tickets were priced at US$140 to US$8680.
Following a significant backlash, Fifa announced US$60 tickets would be made available to each participating national federation for their most loyal supporters, a total likely to be 400-700 per team for each match.
On March 10, 69 Democratic members of US Congress wrote in a letter to Fifa President Gianni Infantino: “The employment of dynamic ticket pricing for the 2026 FWC starkly contrasts with Fifa’s core mission to promote the accessible and inclusive promotion and development of soccer globally.
“Despite host cities’ co-operation in bringing the vision of the largest, most global World Cup in history to fruition, the consequences of dynamic pricing will make the 2026 FWC the most financially exclusionary and inaccessible to date.”
Fifa also has its own resale marketplace in which it collects 15% commission from both the buyer and seller.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, DR Congo, Czech Republic, Iraq, Sweden and Turkey were the final teams to qualify for the World Cup on Tuesday.
Infantino claimed in January that the amount of ticket requests Fifa had received was the equivalent of “the request for 1000 years of World Cups at once”.
“This is unique,” he said at the time. “It’s incredible.”
Fan groups have raised concerns over the rising costs for resold tickets. One filed a formal complaint to the European Commission last month.
Infantino defended Fifa taking a cut from resales, saying the governing body was engaged in a legal commercial activity under US law.
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