FIFA is offering another chance to snag World Cup tickets at face value. It probably won’t be the last.
Soccer's governing body will release a new crop of tickets on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Wednesday at 11 a.m. It's one of several ticket releases that could happen, according to FIFA.
If you thought your chance to get your hands on World Cup tickets at face value had passed, FIFA is offering another opportunity.
This chance could be one of several. On Tuesday, soccer’s world governing body announced that in conjunction with the 50-day countdown to the World Cup, a new crop of tickets will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Wednesday at 11 a.m.
The “Last-Minute Sales Phase” is an ongoing, recurring sales window that will run through the end of the tournament, according to a release from FIFA.
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When asked by The Inquirer about the frequency with which prospective ticket holders will be able to purchase face-value tickets and not ones marked up on various marketplaces (including FIFA’s own internal site), a FIFA spokesperson said there’s “not much more to share beyond the release.”
Wednesday’s sale is said to showcase tickets ranging from Category 1 (lower-level seats) to Category 3 (upper level), depending on availability across the 16 stadiums, including Lincoln Financial Field, that will host 104 matches over two weeks before the knockout rounds begin.
For matches in Philadelphia, on Tuesday, FIFA’s ticketing website showed only availability for the June 14 opener between the Ivory Coast and Ecuador, with resale tickets in Category 1 ranging from $862-$12,500 and Category 3 seats ranging from $690-$3,450 on the marketplace.
» READ MORE: No, FIFA isn’t actually banning tailgating at the Linc during the World Cup
It’s unclear whether tickets for additional matches in Philadelphia will be available during Wednesday’s sales phase.
While these are secondary market price points, tickets at face value haven’t been that far off from these numbers, leaving some soccer fans trying to obtain tickets to opt out entirely.
Earlier this week, a report from The Athletic noted that a memo to local organizers suggested that FIFA still held a surprisingly high ticket count for the U.S. team’s opening group-stage game against Paraguay on June 12. The report says the memo listed a bit more than 40,000 tickets sold at the nearly 70,000-seat SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
As always, FIFA is telling fans to expect high traffic periods online Wednesday, with wait times in a queue that, if missed, will bump prospective buyers to the back of the line. Once inside, there will be two options to choose from, a map overview that will allow fans to choose where they want to sit in addition to a prompt that will pull up the best seats remaining.
The Last Minute Sales Phase is the last of a four-part sales window from FIFA that began in September. Ahead of the second part of that phase, the “Random Selection Draw,” FIFA said that 500 million people were interested in purchasing tickets. The organization has released a small number tickets in each of those phases in addition to hospitality packages that have been available for months on FIFA’s ticketing page.
» READ MORE: Fans from four nations headed to Philly for the World Cup face real obstacles to get here
The news juxtaposed the announcement Tuesday that SEPTA will offer free rides from matches on the Broad Street Line on game days for all six games of the tournament at Lincoln Financial Field, beginning June 14 and running until a round-of-16 knockout game on July 4.
Nine nations will compete in five group stage matches this summer, plus two more in a knockout game on July 4. Here’s what you need to know about those countries — and what those fans need to know about Philly. Click here for more.
