Going to North America '26: tickets, accommodations, etc. (non-politics)

I believe it, what I believe too is that there were very few tickets available for the most desirable matches, plus probably some weird shenanigans where people were being (randomly?) filtered out.

So let's say M71 received 1M+ requests, FIFA might have had only 10-20K tickets available for that game during the RSD, or maybe even fewer than that.

 

Sorry I actually got that wrong. He stated 508,000,000. Still can't believe it.

 

Indeed, I am also looking forward to the overall atmosphere in cities. I think it will be quite unique in terms of the scale of the WC vibe, maybe even in non-WC host cities. I live in NYC but plan to visit Philly and Guadalajara also during the tournament just to take it in.

Personally I have no real interest in going to the games. I don't think that's where the best vibe will be anyway, ironically, given the location of the stadiums and because they banned tailgate gatherings. As you imply, its more about the pre-/post-game and night-before stuff.

 

Disgusting that as a host country our opening game will not be sold out due to outrageous pricing by FIFA. These are not tickets on the secondary market so I doubt FIFA will be smart enough to lower prices much since it seems that have low information folks making these decisions.

 

you can't cart those if bot is scanning for them. bots have them in their carts even before they are shown as available to you

the only chance is if bigger volume is released ... or if no bots are scanning

 

Yesterday and today saw ticket drops for most R32 and R16 games.. Overpriced Cat 1 and Cat 2 "Front Row" nonsense, but this is very encouraging and leads me to believe there are plenty more tickets available for most group stage games and most KOs through the QFs. Have to believe that a chunk of Cat 2 and Cat 3 regular tickets will be released in the next few weeks.

 

They are playing chicken with those that want tickets. At some point they will cut prices. There is no point leaving seats unsold.

The people they're really screwing are those that live overseas. You can't wait until the last minute if you have to book flights and hotels, unless you're prepared to junk the whole thing if it doesn't work out. FIFA is tarnishing its brand but they're arrogant and don't think long term.

Technology is being used to screw people in lots of industries now. Especially by using personal data. There is even talk of variable grocery prices now.

 

Fantastic post. Well put. It's the first time I'm going to the US. Have travelled to Europe and Asia frequently but have always put the US on the maybe 'next time' list. Really looking forward to visiting Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco and especially New York. Part of the WC 'deal' was to meet up with my wife and daughters there after the group stage and spend a week there before flying to Greece. Have cat3 tix in the very back row (hahaha) for r32 NY game and am hoping it involves Australia or USA to make it slightly more worthwhile. Have a cousin living in Seattle with her fiance and sorted tickets for them for the Turkey and Paraguay games. They are wrapped. Trying to now get some tix to the USA game for them.
Been following the ticket sales process closely in the media. Journo's always seem to quote the most expensive ticket fifa are offering, cat1 final, as if that's what every game is going for and the 100k+ pisstake prices on resale some clowns have put up. Tickets especially for most group games will drop as the tournament approaches. Resale at the monent is ridiculous. I'm still after Egypt v Belgium tix but not really hunting too hard
and will probably just wait till game day outside the stadium hoping to snap fv tickets from somewhere. We're on a tour for the group games. Everything is organised. Hotels in Seattle and Vancouver are walking distance to stadiums, in San Fransisco bus transfer is included to the game. In NY will be staying in a hotel in Newport right next to the Path station so any advice on avoiding paying $150 for a 10 minute train ride lol to MetLife would be appreciated.
It's mine and my son's 2nd WC and as we discovered in the Qatar it's really about the laughs, the carry on, random people you meet, friends you make, the absurdities you encounter, the passion football and its fans generates and lifelong memories that stay with you. In 20 years will probably end up laughing at how we waited for 3 hours and paid $250 for a 20 minute uber ride back to the hotel after a MetLife game.

 

There are many issues with this. The USA is not Qatar or Spain. You can't just plan a last minute trip from Europe or even the East Coast to LA. Flights are typically always full and there is no practical passenger train. So they are really playing with fire here in terms of a half empty stadium.

$1,940 for a "Category 2" ticket behind the goal in the 400 level. Even if they slash these by 25% who is paying $1,500 for some of the worst seats in the stadium for a group game? Then you have to figure out how to get to LA last minute, book flights, hotels etc.

 

3 hours for Uber? that's very optimistic to say the least, you won't find any, the sooner you go to the train the better

 

I’ve had M41 and M55 planned but the whole NY train shenanigans have pushed me to reconsider and going to do likely Atlanta M50 (got a choice between that, Seattle or Houston - I’m not fussed about watching a big team so Portugal doesn’t appeal to me lol), followed by Toronto M62 (got some relatives there too which is nice). I’m still not booked on anything as accommodation seems to be going lower every day and flights are weirdly stable. But need to pull the trigger on that asap!

having said that, even if I had everything booked, I wasn’t gonna worry about tickets. Apart from top group stage matchups, prices will get lower and lower, so I’m calmly waiting it out!

Trying to focus on the football and the nice people in the US and Canada, even though all my friends and family have either given up or actively trying to persuade me to not go anymore. It’s the World Cup though! It transcends politics, war and even FIFA’s scumminess.

Bring it on!

LE: I think you can kind of guess my steer towards the updated plan, I’m trying to stick to transit friendly cities as driving is not my skill lol!

 

Ffs, why did they have to announce it?!?

 

Confirmed, FIFA is just playing games.

 

More info here:

https://inside.fifa.com/organisatio...minute-ticket-sales-phase-fifa-world-cup-2026

"At the start of sale, tickets will be available across categories 1 to 3 and the front-row seat categories, depending on the match."

 

Wish they wouldn't have publicized it so sickos like us who check this every day could have gotten the good stuff

 

At least this time we all have the right link so we won’t end up in the wrong queue. FIFA wouldn’t do that, right? Right?

 

Will these tickets be repriced in their FV in regular CAT1-3? Personally, I think they will be. M71 Category 1 (regular, not Front Row) might clear $1,000 FV in this new drop

 

There’s a price point where they can sell (and fill) every seat in every stadium tomorrow, if they wanted to. And even at the last minute, people will jump at any ticket if it’s $30 or whatever. They nearly sold out the very undesirable Chelsea-Fluminense CWC semifinal on short notice (on a Tuesday at 3pm) by pumping out some $13 tickets in the days before. And this was with the other semifinal (Real Madrid-PSG) being in the same stadium the next day.

 

Touts - capitulate!!!

 

I actually don't hate them holding back on some inventory to give latecomers a chance to go to the games, and for excitement to continue to be there. If all games had fully sold out in January, there would be nothing to talk about lol.

What I don't like is FIFA acting like every game IS sold out, stoking maximum FOMO, and the opaque dynamic pricing piece. They're just playing games. It could be very straightforward: "Our games are now sold at these prices, and they are now fixed after one final adjustment. We will be releasing batches of tickets over the coming few weeks. Don't despair, your chance will come!" And voilà!

They could even have decided to do Front Row Category 1/2/3 but at a reasonable markup, not freakin $2,400 for a group stage game. Maybe like $1,000 for a highly desirable game, or whatever.

My memory might be incorrect, but I remember Russia being fairly straightforward. I wasn't at Qatar but from what I've heard that's what it was like there too.

 

if anyone needs *help* with the drop tommorow and the queue system, please give me a dm.

i helped some members on here secure phase 3 tickets.

 

Too early! But hold the line. We’ll likely see premium cat1s tomorrow at ridiculous prices.

 

Can anyone (that’s not a new member) vouch for him? Thanks. I need to upgrade a couple of matches.

 

I can not vouch for him but 500USD just to get a theoretical chance (if everything works technically) to skip the queue were a couple of Ben Franklins over my budget.