Looking to get your hands on World Cup tickets? A second crack at the nut comes on Monday as FIFA will hold its Early Ticket Draw entry period.
Beginning at 11 a.m. on Monday Oct. 27 and ending on Friday, Oct. 31 at the same time, fans can enter a lottery to purchase single-game tickets via FIFA’s ticketing portal to all 104 matches across 16 venues. According to a FIFA release, the governing body will select fans at random and contact them to purchase tickets during a “dedicated time slot.”
During this phase, fans will also have the opportunity to buy based on qualifying nation and for matches at the venue of their choice.
The presale is the third opportunity FIFA has rolled out to purchase tickets, and the second that offers single-match tickets. Rolling out hospitality packages first in August, FIFA then followed that with a single-game presale for Visa cardholders last month. That presale, according to the outfit, saw one million people apply for tickets.
There is one more presale set to occur following the FIFA World Cup draw in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 5, in which they’ll open up remaining tickets to the general public, in what’s expected to be a final frenzy. However, one thing that doesn’t seem to have deterred ticket hopefuls much is what many feel are exorbitant ticket pricing and fees with FIFA enacting to go with dynamic ticket pricing in these early stages.
For example, prices for the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., has seen the cheapest ticket start at $2,030 and reach as much as $6,730 for a premium seat.
Earlier this month, FIFA responded to criticism that ticket prices are just to high claiming that dynamic pricing is the norm and that market demand will determine ticket value.
It also noted in a statement that as a nonprofit, proceeds are reinvested to “fuel the growth of the game [men, women, and youth] throughout FIFA’s 211 member associations,” adding that 90% of budget investments from 2023 through next summer’s World Cup are put back into the game to “significantly boost global football development.”
