What to know
- The tournament’s Toronto opener on June 12 will feature Canada men’s national soccer team vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team, replacing earlier expectations that Italy would play.
- Resale prices have skyrocketed, with listings ranging from about $2,600 to over $90,000, while ticket availability has dropped significantly following the final sales phase.
- Fans also faced technical issues during FIFA’s last ticket release, including long queues and redirects, as demand intensified ahead of Toronto hosting six matches during the tournament.
The FIFA World Cup is now 70 days away, but those who are still trying to get their tickets for the tournament’s opening match in Toronto are being met with technical challenges and steep prices.
On June 12, the biggest soccer event of the year kicked off at the newly-renewed BMO Field in Toronto, with a match between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina bringing thousands of excited fans to the city.
The confirmation of the first match comes after falling through in a match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday, reaching a 4–1 score, four-time World Cup champion Italy will not be facing the national team.
Since last year, tickets for the World Cup were made available for purchase over five different phases. As the opening match was being decided on Tuesday, there were about 400 tickets still available on StubHub Canada for the first BMO Field game, according to media reports.
But those who waited until this week to grant their spot in the bleaches were met with steep prices and technical difficulties to get tickets.
After the match with Bosnia and Herzegovina was decided on Tuesday prices went up, with the most expensive tickets reaching $130,766 on Stubhub, according to reports.
Ticket prices continue to go up in reselling platforms after the “last-minute sales phase,” which opened at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. As of Thursday, there are about 40 listings still available at Stubhub, with the cheapest going for $2,622 and the most expensive one for $91,714.
After the last phase opened, FIFA also appeared to have technical difficulties, with users being redirected to another queue after the sales opened, leading to longer wait times, but the issue was soon restored.
The steep prices spiked reaction on social media, with many questioning whether watching the match was worth the dollars.
“$3,000 to watch Canada vs Bosnia at the BMO is a calamity,” one person wrote on X.
“I waited hours, got in, and the least expensive TO opener ticket was $2,100. What a joke,” a different person said.
“Who is buying tickets for this amount,” another person commented.
“Ridiculous. Honestly, this is a money grab and nothing else,” a different user added.
Other fans were also calling out FIFA for the long wait times and technical issues.
“FIFA made people wait up to 5hrs u show “available tickets” and everything is sold out and 500$+, one X user said.
“I had a browser open for seven hours, waiting in the queue for ‘last minute; tickets. (I’ve been trying to get tickets every phase with no luck). I finally get in, and get presented with three matches in my country. All of which are horrible seats. Starting at $1,000-3,000,” another user commented.
FIFA releases full World Cup schedule
On Wednesday, FIFA released the official schedule for all of the World Cup’s group phase games.
Toronto’s BMO Field will host a total of six games throughout the tournament, including:
- Canada v Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12;
- Ghana v Panama on June 17;
- Germany v Côte d’Ivoire on June 20;
- Panama v Croatia on June 23;
- Senegal v Iraq on June 26;
- Group K runners-up v Group L runners-up, which will be decided after earlier games, on July 2.
Vancouver’s BC Place will also host seven World Cup games, including:
- Australia v Türkiye on June 13;
- Canada v Qatar on June 18;
- New Zealand v Egypt on June 21;
- Switzerland v Canada on June 24;
- New Zealand v Belgium on June 26;
- Group B winners v Group E/F/G/I/J third place on July 2;
- Winner match 85 (winner of the July 2 game) v Winner match 87 (winner of group K winners v Group D/E/I/J/L third place) on July 7.
