It took several minutes for some soccer fans around the world. It took at least an hour, or even longer, for others. And some fans even ran into a “HTTP Status 400 — Bad Request” error message. Apparently, for good reason.
The first opportunity to register to buy 2026 FIFA World Cup tickets during the Visa Presale Draw saw more than 1.5 million fans from 210 countries sign up on Sept. 10, FIFA said in a press release on Sept. 11.
The countries with the highest demand were the three host nations – U.S., Mexico and Canada – followed by Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, England, Spain, Portugal and Germany.
Prospective World Cup ticket buyers can still register for the ticket draw for Visa cardholders through Sept. 19 at 11 a.m. ET.
FIFA insists fans who sign up at any time still receive the same chance to win during the draw as fans that have already signed up.
Another reminder: This is an opportunity to be selected to buy World Cup tickets, not actually buy them just yet.
“The large number of entries submitted is a testament to the huge amount of excitement sparked across the globe by the FIFA World Cup 26 and the extent to which it’s set to become a watershed in football history,” FIFA World Cup 26 Chief Operating Officer Heimo Schirgi said in the press release.
Still, the social media reaction in the hours following the 11 a.m. ET start time to the draw on Sept. 10 echoed frustration for many.
“Joined the HTTP Status 400 – Bad Request brigade for the FIFA presale. Brutal,” soccer commentator Chris Wittyngham said on X.
Journalist J.D. Capelouto plainly stated: “I want World Cup tickets so I’m currently in a waiting room to join a queue to enter a presale draw to determine my eligibility to maybe buy tickets at an unspecified later date. what are we doing here @FIFAcom[?]”
Danny Navarro, an informative social media creator known as travelfutbolfan, called the FIFA ticket draw process “shambolic” because the organization sent its users an email with a link to register hours after the initial start time. He signed up for the draw using the FIFA app instead of the website and reported fans said it took about 10 minutes for them to ultimately sign up.
World Cup ticket draw winners will be notified on Sept. 29, and receive a dedicated date and time slot from Oct. 1 to Oct. 21 to purchase tickets during the first phase of ticket sales.
FIFA says ticket buyers can buy up to four tickets per match for 10 total matches, 40 tickets in total. FIFA will also launch its own ticket resale platform to safeguard fans against invalid or unauthorized resale tickets.
2026 FIFA World Cup tickets: Types and prices
Ticket buyers can buy three types of tickets: Single-match tickets, team-specific tickets to follow their country, or venue-specific tickets to attend matches at the same stadium.
Tickets are also priced in categories: Category 1 is the most expensive in the lower bowl of the respective host stadiums. Category 2 is the second level, followed by Categories 3 and 4 in the upper levels.
FIFA says the lowest price ticket for a group stage match at the beginning of the tournament will be $60, while the most expensive ticket price for the World Cup final will be set at $6,730. However, variable or dynamic pricing could affect how much those prices could fluctuate based on demand.
FIFA will have approximately 1 million tickets for sale during the presale draw phase, while 6 million fans are expected to attend.
The next opportunity to register to buy World Cup tickets will occur later this year. There will also be two other opportunities to purchase tickets in 2026.
The World Cup begins June 11, 2026, in Mexico City and ends with the final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19, 2026.