Not sure if y'all got this email yesterday, but FIFA is rolling out some sort of weird collectible / game / pay-to-play scheme for their ticket selection process.

Quote:

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USA94 - 30 years later
The World Cup that changed the game
Collect the history of the FIFA World Cup and get rewarded with the chance of buying 2 tickets for the 2026 edition.
Celebrate the FIFA World Cup USA 1994, the tournament that put the United States on the football map, with FIFA Collect's exclusive 30th anniversary drop. As we look ahead to the FIFA World Cup 2026 returning to North America and Mexico, relive USA '94's iconic moments through digital collectibles. Open packs, complete challenges, and earn a unique reward - the chance to buy tickets for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Upon completing the challenge you will get a right to buy 2 tickets for a match that will be assigned randomly to you, there is a total of 460 pairs available (meaning 920 RTBs!). One every three RTBs will be for the second or third game of team Mexico, all the others will be for other group phase games that will be assigned randomly to you. Once the calendar is announced, you will know which game your RTB corresponds to. RTBs will be tradeable on the secondary market in case you are looking to watch a different match.
For more details, visit the detailed drop's page: https://collect.fifa.com/usa-94

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Info: https://collect.fifa.com/usa-94 (currently broken?)

Anyway, I tried to buy a pack (because I'm likely a sucker) but the website was down. Anyone else get this email or have luck getting the website to work?

We can also use this thread to talk about other ticket-related talk as the 2026 WC approaches.

So what if I live in Houston and get assigned a game in ny or cali?

This some dumb shiz

This is bull****, it should just be a free raffle, to get the chance to buy the tickets to games

gambochaman said:

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So what if I live in Houston and get assigned a game in ny or cali?

This some dumb shiz

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They say you could trade with someone else who has an RTB.

The whole thing is crazy and seems like it's designed to screw people who don't read well. What are the "previous drops" of collectibles they mention? Because if you don't have one of those, you ain't getting an RTB.

Bare minimum, you need 1 "previous drop" and all 15 unique cards from this release… sold in packs of 3, that means you'd probably need to be buy at least 10 of them to have a decent chance (and even then would likely have to buy/trade for a couple).

Best deal on here is the $999 pack that gives you a guaranteed RTB for the opening match at the Azteca, but I'd bet $999 that all 115 of those are already gone.

Yeah, my purchased two packs aren't enough to get me past challenge two, so if I wanted to make it further, I'd have to buy up single moments off the marketplace. Which itself entails basically buying crypto currency to make that exchange. -__-

Example: To complete my level two challenge, I'll need at least two epic level cards and one iconic level card. Epics you can buy on the marketplace for around $25 apiece. Iconics? There's only one available and bidding on that starts at $450. It's dumb and I knew that going in, but it helps to complain about how dumb is it.

What's weird is I don't think I've seen any media member talking or writing about any of this anywhere.

Did I miss something or is this only for Mexico tickets?

What I'm reading is wait until tickets are released and fork over 1-month's salary and buy on StubHub.

It's very vaguely worded, but from what I gather, this "contest" is for rights to buy tickets, but also some of those specific games are Mexico matches.

Which makes me think they'll have some other super gimmicky and expensive thing later for rights to US matches.

jeffk said:

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It's very vaguely worded, but from what I gather, this "contest" is for rights to buy tickets, but also some of those specific games are Mexico matches.

Which makes me think they'll have some other super gimmicky and expensive thing later for rights to US matches.

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Yeah that was my thought too. This is the gimmick for Mexico fans and the next one will be for US fans.

Based on what I could tell about the secondary market when I looked last night - I think you could cobble together all the things you need for an RTB for about $700. Which, if I were a Mexico fan, I'd be tempted to pursue, even though it's only a 1/3 chance that the RTB you get will be Mexico. If they do something similar for the US, I'm gonna be tempted to be dumb.

I loathe the level of gimmick going on here. Having to play with collectibles, and having to use crypto to do so.

The best deal they had was the 115 slots they gave for $999 which guaranteed a RTB for the opening match without having to collect a set. I'd happily pay that to be guaranteed a RTB for the US opener.

I received this email too and passed on the opportunity.

New email out: $500/ticket deposit for ticket-inclusive hospitality packages, premium seating, luxury food and beverage, exclusive meet and greets.

Tempting. I'd be curious to know what the full price is for these. I suppose worst case, they get to have my deposit for 12-18 months and then I get a refund because I don't want to pay for the full package.

Edit to add link:
https://www.fifa.com/en/hospitality

deadbq03 said:

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Tempting. I'd be curious to know what the full price is for these. I suppose worst case, they get to have my deposit for 12-18 months and then I get a refund because I don't want to pay for the full package.

Edit to add link:
https://www.fifa.com/en/hospitality

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Same, that's what's holding me back.

The word around the internets is Category 3 tickets will start at $323.

They aren't gonna sell out many groups stage games if that's the case. Also ****s a ton of the rest of the world trying to come to the matches. That's 3x as much as 2022 Group Stage Cat 3 tickets

Out in Left Field said:

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The word around the internets is Category 3 tickets will start at $323.

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no one gets screwed like the American sports fan.

Just wait until the Olympics

wangus12 said:

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They aren't gonna sell out many groups stage games if that's the case. Also ****s a ton of the rest of the world trying to come to the matches. That's 3x as much as 2022 Group Stage Cat 3 tickets

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I can not stress this enough...I don't want this to get political. Like not even a little bit.

But forget about pricing, there are large parts of the world who won't be able to get a visa to come. And demand from other parts of the world that in theory have an easier visa application process, will likely be a lot lower than it otherwise would be.

Of course a lot can change in a year and maybe even with depressed demand and insanely long wait times for visas, they'll have no problem filling seats at these prices. But it's not the given it once was especially since it's an expanded World Cup. I'm going to guess that the local population will makeup a higher percentage of attendance at this World Cup than what is typical.

That's a good point to bring up. I don't think it'll actually be that bad, but who knows. There's still a lot of countries on the Visa Waiver Program, and the vast majority of the banned (or about to be banned) countries don't have a prayer of making the WC. Iran might be the only one. Now whether there's any workers left to process visas is a different story

But your point is certainly worth discussing because perception = reality. If people perceive they'll be mistreated/hassled, it's just as bad as if there's an actual barrier to entry (even if it doesn't exist). And there's also a real risk of people "voting with their pocketbooks" and not wanting to spend money here.

All that said, I think there will be far more travelers than there were for Qatar, so comparing prices to that WC probably isn't a good idea.

Out in Left Field said:

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The word around the internets is Category 3 tickets will start at $323.

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Surely not that much for group stage. Cat 3 is behind the goals right?

Correct. Cat 1 is the sides of the pitch. Cat 2 is the corners. Cat 3 is directly behind the goal. Qatar 2022 had a Cat 4 that was only for Qatar locals, but I doubt the USA has that one.

Like this.



And here were the ticket prices

Visa waiver countries are most of Europe and then friendly nations in Middle East and Asia. But even if you ignore situations like Iran who will be outright banned, just look at current wait times for tourist visas from select locations.

Mexico City: 350 days
Guadalajara: 328 days
San Jose: 259 days
Tegucigalpa: 423 days
Quito: 345 days
Bogota: 507 days

Basically, if you live in those countries and haven't already gotten your tourist visa for the World Cup, you're screwed. And that's the situation now. Quite likely wait times go up in the coming year as various consulates are closed and staff is reduced in the ones that stay open.

I would imagine if there is enough bad publicity around it (and it is beginning...e.g. https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2025-01-29/sports-visas-delay-olympics-world-cup), they (the Feds) will start to bend

At any rate, my hopes for getting tickets to this are fading

I don't necessarily need USA tickets, so I'm hoping to get reasonable prices for Houston.

hurleyag said:

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I don't necessarily need USA tickets, so I'm hoping to get reasonable prices for Houston.

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You better hope for Australia v. Poland in Houston then.....

Looks like single game tickets are available

hurleyag said:

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Looks like single game tickets are available

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$651 were the cheapest I saw. And for that reason, I am out. $2500 for my family of four to see Angola vs Pakistan, when I have a big ass tv with 4k and cold beer at home is a no brainer for this guy.

Is this through the FIFA website or somewhere else? All I was able to find on the FIFA website are single game tickets for things like VIP, platinum, etc. that start at $1500 each.

Saving my powder for the final.

Will hit up every game possible in Houston and maybe a few in Arlington.

Yeah these aren't the normal tickets. These are premium only. You can register your interest in normal tickets now though.

On the plus side, I'm glad I didn't waste my time with the deposit for the hospitality package… I want no part of these prices.

Has anyone that lives in Dallas or Houston area gotten any news or updates on the fan festivals? Wishing all of you luck on the ticket lottery.