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By John Ogunsemore
FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced on Monday that the organization has received more than 150 million ticket requests for the 2026 World Cup in just the first 15 days of the current sales phase, highlighting what he described as “absolutely crazy” global demand for the expanded tournament.
Speaking at the World Sports Summit in Dubai, Infantino used the staggering figure to defend the tournament’s controversial ticket pricing, which has drawn sharp criticism from fan groups for being significantly higher than previous World Cups.
“We have six to seven million tickets on sale, and in 15 days we received 150 million ticket requests – that’s 10 million requests every single day,” Infantino said. “It shows how powerful the World Cup is.”
He compared the demand to historical attendance, noting that FIFA has sold a total of 44 million tickets across nearly 100 years of World Cup history.
Infantino said, “In two weeks, we could have filled 300 years of World Cups. Imagine that. This is absolutely crazy.”
The 2026 edition, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, will be the largest ever, featuring 48 teams and 104 matches running from June 11 to July 19.
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Requests have come from fans in over 200 countries, with the highest numbers from the U.S., followed by Germany and the United Kingdom, according to Infantino.
The announcement comes amid backlash over ticket prices, which in some categories are several times higher than those for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Earlier this month, FIFA introduced a limited $60 “supporter entry tier” for fans of qualified teams in response to complaints.
Infantino emphasized that revenues from the World Cup are reinvested into global football development.
“What’s crucial is that the revenues generated from this are going back to the game all over the world,” he said. “Without FIFA, there would be no football in 150 countries.”
The current random selection draw phase for tickets remains open until January 13, 2026, with FIFA describing the tournament as 30 times oversubscribed based on the early requests.
