FIFA held a surprise World Cup presale this week aimed at select fans — but ticket prices were again sky high

For Philly soccer fans granted an exclusive presale for World Cup tickets at the Linc, sticker shock was real.

Soccer fans will descend on Philadelphia later this summer with the FIFA World Cup headed to Lincoln Financial Field. But with ticket prices still high, just how many remains to be seen. Read moreCarl Recine - FIFA / FIFA via Getty Images

Published Feb. 27, 2026, 4:48 p.m. ET

Many soccer fans hoping to score early World Cup tickets have been unable to do so after missing out on previous presale windows. In an effort to appease those fans, FIFA offered a 48-hour special opportunity for supporters to purchase tickets to select matches in their desired markets. But prices remained sky high, availability was severely limited, and details — like where you’d actually be sitting — were minimal.

Over the course of three separate presales, which began in September with a special draw for Visa cardholders, FIFA claims more than 500 million fans have expressed interest, with many registering in ticket lotteries. These lotteries and presales come before what’s expected to be a free-for-all in April, FIFA’s last-minute sales phase, in which tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, “processed as real-time transactions.”

So the surprise that FIFA offered a special, unannounced 48-hour presale to select fans — starting at 11 a.m. on Wednesday and ending the same time on Friday — came as a welcome shock for those looking for seats before they hit the secondary market.

However, for some fans, the real shock arrived after they bypassed FIFA’s queue and gained access to the ticket portal. By Friday morning in Philadelphia, the only game left available was the Group E match between the Ivory Coast and World Cup first-timers Curaçao on June 25 (4 p.m., FS1).

It’s unknown if FIFA offered more than one match during this special presale or if it was just that one match, and requests for comment to its media team regarding the number of matches made available, as well as the number of matches in neighboring markets like New York for this presale, went unanswered at the time of this report.

FIFA, which offers tickets in three categories ranging from Category 1 (the most expensive) to Category 3 (the least expensive), had seating in this special presale only for Categories 1 and 2 remaining on Friday morning. They started at $360 per ticket. For a seat in Category 1? $450.

These prices mirrored the original ticket prices for matches in Philly when they were first released in December, with Category 2 tickets in this latest special presale just $20 cheaper than the original $380 asking price.

Following global backlash in that same month, FIFA offered what they called a Supporter Entry Tier ticket, selling off a few hundred Category 3 seats across all 16 venues for just $60.

However, it appears prices, fueled by FIFA’s employment of dynamic pricing for the first time in World Cup history, are back in the hundreds of dollars.

To some in this latest presale, the juice just didn’t feel worth the squeeze.

“Who can afford that for that game?” said Daniel Quinn, a Northeast Philly native who works in retail management. Quinn said he didn’t even notice the email from FIFA until Thursday night, as it hit his spam folder.

He rushed to the portal on Friday morning to see what was left.

“I just stared at my phone and laughed,” Quinn said. “Listen, I know it’s the World Cup, but I can’t justify paying $360 to watch a game where I can’t tell you a single soul playing on the field. Like, I know the Ivory Coast has good players, but for that to be the only game available and then to offer seats at those prices, just felt silly.”

One more surprise remained. The presale still only guaranteed fans what’s known as a “right to buy” ticket, meaning that seat selection, even after purchasing, remained a mystery and would only be made available as the match drew closer.

“Why are these still right to buy tickets?” Quinn continued. “This late in the game, I should know where I’ll sit so I can make an informed decision. Does a Cat 1 seat get me in the back [of the lower bowl] at the Linc, or a Cat 2, where I’m sitting up higher, but I might be in front? If you’re going to spend that type of money, I feel like you should at least know that.”

Earlier this week, a FIFA spokesperson told The Athletic that the fans chosen for its latest presale were “a defined group of applicants” selected in order to maximize fairness and acknowledge fans who have already demonstrated strong interest in the tournament.”

But the fact that, with just hours left before the Friday mid-morning deadline, the opportunity was availability for one game across the five group-stage matches coming to Philly beginning June 14, and that the cost to attend was still so high, rubbed soccer fans like Quinn the wrong way.

“Listen, shoutout to the people who can afford these [tickets],” he said. “I’m a lifelong soccer fan, and I’ve been to a lot of [soccer] games at the Linc. I went to the Club World Cup last year, and having the World Cup not just here in the States but literally where the Birds play feels like a bucket list [item]. But I think I’ll wait, man. Either these [ticket prices] drop because there are people like me who are laughing at what they’re charging, and prices will go way down, or people will snatch these up, and I’ll watch it for free on TV.

“At this point, either way works for me.”