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“I want World Cup tickets so I’m currently in a waiting room to join a queue to enter a pre-sale draw to determine my eligibility to maybe buy tickets at an unspecified later date. What are we doing here @FIFAcom?” tweeted J.D. Capelouto.

A spokeswoman for the Canadian end of the soccer showcase acknowledged that while people were getting through to register in the draw, “we were experiencing initial extended wait times as the registration period opened.”

She noted the pre-sale portal remains open until 11 a.m. ET on Sept. 19, so there is plenty of time to try again

To take part in the pre-sale, you have to register with FIFA, be 18 or older and have a Visa card. When the portal opened Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET, registrants had to sign in and wait until a countdown clock popped up advising their time was near. When the clock wound down, they had five minutes to click on an “Enter” button for the next step — providing the personal details needed to be part of the draw.

After duly waiting, some found themselves getting an error message “HTTP Status 400 — Bad Request.” Or back to where they started, facing another wait and the same hoops to jump through again.

Patience was rewarded eventually (in my case, some five hours and several attempts after the portal opened). But some likely gave up before getting there.

When the pre-sale window closes, a random draw will be held. Those lucky enough to be drawn will be notified by email by Sept. 29, complete with a dedicated date and time slot (from Oct. 1 to 21) to go online and buy tickets, subject to availability.

The draw is one of three ways Canadians can get tickets to the expanded 48-team, 104-game tournament (º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøand Vancouver are the Canadian host cities).

In addition to hospitality packages (already available), which range in price from $2,500 for a single-game package to the sky’s the limit for bespoke experiences, Canadians will also be able to enter a separate lottery for a shot at Canada Soccer’s ticket allotment for Canada’s games. To do that, you have to be a member of the CanadaRed supporters group, with details on timing to come.

The cheapest ticket for group-stage matches is US$60, the lowest of four price categories — and farthest from the field. That ranges all the way to US$6,730 for the most expensive ticket for the championship game.

FIFA cautions, however, that those will change subject to demand, including during the pre-sale. So expect prices to rise.

Fans will be able to purchase up to four tickets per game — for up to 10 matches. So a maximum of 40 tickets.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2025