FIFA adopted a dynamic pricing model for ticket sales to the 2026 World Cup through its online portal and launched its own secondary market for fans to buy and resell tickets. At the start of this month, FIFA raised Category 1 final match ticket prices to nearly $11,000 and Category 3 prices to nearly $6,000.

The tournament starts on June 11th and will be held in 16 North American cities: 11 in the United States, 3 in Mexico, and 2 in Canada. MetLife Stadium will host eight games, including the final on July 19th. FIFA estimated that the tournament could generate up to $11 billion from ticket sales, media rights, and other revenue sources.

When initial prices were announced in October, some first-round group stage tickets were listed at $60, while most tickets cost hundreds of dollars and knockout stage seats were priced higher. Under the dynamic pricing model, there is no set ticket price, and prices for earlier matches vary based on location and participating teams.

"To provide access to fans, while at the same time ensuring as much value as possible is retained for redistribution into the game around the world," FIFA media director Bryan Swanson wrote. FIFA, a not-for-profit organization devoted to developing soccer globally, said it had not formally received a complaint filed with the European Commission by a soccer supporters' group and a consumer group representing fans from five countries, which charged FIFA with introducing "excessive" prices and "opaque and unfair purchasing conditions."

Economist Barry Kahn, who founded the software company Qcue to help sports teams use dynamic pricing after the San Francisco Giants became its first client in 2009, contrasted FIFA's approach with that of sports franchises that adopted the model. "The question was should we try to stop this, or get a piece of it," Kahn said. He added: "Every team that did this was interested in building long-term relationships with the fans. That's very different to what you are seeing now with FIFA and the World Cup."

World Cup tickets are classified into four categories. Fans were required to order tickets based on color-coded stadium maps rather than selecting specific seats, and FIFA's ticket terms of use state that its stadium maps are "for guidance purposes only." New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill demanded that FIFA contribute to the cost of transporting fans to MetLife Stadium.

Reporter Henry Bushnell said, "Tickets are multiple times more expensive than equivalent tickets to previous men's World Cups." He added that "Some Category 1 ticket holders were placed in sections that, at one point, were color-coded as Category 2."