FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket frenzy unfolds amid global unrest
Al Jazeera
Demand so high that tickets are oversubscribed more than 30 times as pricing and global unrest now in focus.
With 100 days to go until the tournament kicks off, appetite for tickets to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada is reaching fever pitch despite eye-watering prices that have fans crying foul amid global unrest after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
In addition to the war against Iran – a country scheduled to play its World Cup group stage games in the US – the heavy-handed immigration crackdowns in the US and the violence that erupted near host city Guadalajara after the death of Mexico’s most-wanted drug cartel leader are causing concern for fans.
“I’m afraid I might not be allowed into the country. I’ve decided to fly to Canada at most but not to the USA,” German football fan Tom Roeder told the Reuters news agency
“I hope that at least the issue of war with Iran does not reach North America, at least not in a way that affects us personally.”
FIFA, which did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment, has said nearly 2 million tickets were sold in the first two sales phases and demand was so intense that World Cup tickets were oversubscribed more than 30 times.
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