On Wednesday, soccer enthusiasts eager to secure tickets for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to take place across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, found themselves frustrated and disappointed.

This was intended to be their last opportunity to purchase tickets directly from FIFA before they hit the resale market on Thursday. However, a significant blunder by officials threw the entire process into disarray.

Fans who logged in early with hopes of purchasing tickets were left waiting for over an hour, stuck in a virtual line that led nowhere.

By the time the issue was rectified, many supporters complained that it was already too late to secure tickets.

Instead of being directed to the general sales page, users were mistakenly redirected to a restricted area meant for the official national-team supporter groups, known as Participating Member Associations (PMAs), which required exclusive access codes.

Fans without these codes were forced to re-enter the main queue, losing their initial spots and falling significantly behind in line.

‘FIFA have blood on their hands for sending majority of fans like myself to the wrong queue,’ one fan wrote on X. ‘Ruining the dreams of many. Stealing money for profit!’

Others said they were blindsided by requests for codes they had never been told they needed. ‘They never mention this – there is no code!’ another fumed. 

Soccer fans trying to grab tickets for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the US, Canada and Mexico were left fuming on Wednesday 

After waiting up to an hour in the queue, many discovered FIFA had accidentally sent them to the PMA supporters portal, a section meant only for officially recognized national-team fans with access to lower-tier tickets

Those without the required code were forced to rejoin the main queue, losing their chance to secure seats and seeing their hopes of watching their favorite teams live dashed by FIFA’s mistake

One user explained what was happening in a warning to others: ‘Don’t mess up your World Cup FIFA ticket chances! If your text says, ‘PMA Late Qualifier Supporters Sales Phase’ where I’ve highlighted it in blue. You are in the wrong link!! 

‘This is FIFA’s fault, as they initially linked the wrong one at the top of the portal!!’

Another vented: ‘FIFA is trash. If you got in the queue before 11AM you got dumped into the PMA queue.’

Fans reported online that it took FIFA up to 10 minutes to fix the website and redirect users to the correct ticket link. 

Many accused the organization of being ‘a scam’. They said they were dumped into the PMA queue after waiting over an hour in what appeared to be the correct last-minute sales queue.

Even those in the correct place had problems. Fans said the virtual queue itself appeared to behave erratically, with some claiming their place actually moved backwards after waiting for more than an hour. 

‘They are definitely moving back… I was more than halfway and now I’m a quarter of the way,’ one wrote. 

And those who managed to get through reported fresh problems, including blank screens, crashes and pages that failed to load any tickets at all. 

Fans reported online that it took FIFA up to 10 minutes to fix the website and redirect users to the correct ticket link

Many accused the organization of being ‘a scam’. They said they were dumped into the PMA queue after waiting over an hour in what appeared to be the correct last-minute sales queue

The page the wrong queue would redirect you to once you made it through to the PMA portal

Users online immediately erupted in fury when they realized what had happened

Beyond the technical mishap, the broader outrage stems from what fans see as FIFA prioritizing profit over supporters 

Beyond the technical mishap, the broader outrage stems from what fans see as FIFA prioritizing profit over supporters, with sky-high ticket prices fueling the perception that the organization has been overlooking fans in pursuit of revenue.

FIFA confirmed in mid-2025 that the 2026 World Cup would use a dynamic pricing model, meaning ticket costs can surge based on supply and demand. 

For the first time, the tournament is fully operating under a US-style ticketing system, where dynamic pricing and legal resale markets allow prices to rise long after initial release – effectively removing any ceiling on what fans might pay.

This contrasts sharply with what North American soccer officials projected during their successful 2018 World Cup bid, which priced the highest-category final tickets at around $1,550 – comparable seats are now listed at more than four times that amount 

Cheaper $60 supporter tickets were only introduced after massive uproar, but these are extremely limited, distributed via federations, and not broadly available to all fans.

Overall, prices for the FIFA World Cup 2026 far exceed any previous edition. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the most expensive final tickets were around $1,600 – compared with nearly $9,000 this year. 

Average prices for the final have soared 269 percent, from $1,607 to $6,370.

Fans who fail to secure tickets during the sales phase will have to wait until the resale market reopens tomorrow (Thursday) at 11 am, where prices are expected to be jump as sellers set their own rates.

Adding insult to injury, FIFA charges a 15 percent fee to both buyers and sellers on the resale market.

This was already the fifth phase of ticket sales, following a complex rollout that began with a Visa presale draw from September 10 to 19, an early ticket ballot from October 27 to 31, a wider random selection phase running from December 11 through January 13 and even a surprise 48-hour release in late February. 

FIFA didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.