MIAMI (AP) — Ticket prices for next year’s World Cup will range initially from $60 for group-stage matches to $6,730 for the final, but could change as soccer’s top event adopts dynamic pricing for the first time.
The prices are up from a range of $25 to $475 for the 1994 tournament in the United States and for the U.S. dollar equivalent $69 to $1,607 when ticket details were announced for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
“I think the message is ‘Get your tickets early,’ especially if you know where you will be, because you live in that city, or you’re a fan of the three hosting nations, and then you know already when and where they will play,” said Heimo Schirgi, the World Cup’s chief operating officer. “So that’s the message: ‘Get your tickets early,’ because anything could happen.”
Next year’s tournament runs from June 11 to July 19 and will be played at 11 sites in the U.S., three in Mexico and two in Canada. The tournament expanded from 32 nations to 48 and from 64 games to 104.
The initial draw period will be limited to Visa card holders and will run from 11 a.m. EDT on Sept. 10 through 11 a.m. EDT on Sept. 19. Those picked to buy tickets will be notified starting Sept. 29 and will be given a timeslot to purchase starting Oct. 1. While tickets for all 104 matches are being put on sale, receiving a timeslot does not guarantee tickets will be available.
Sales will be capped at four tickets per person per match, with no person being able to purchase more than 40 for the totality of the tournament.
FIFA said it has no additional details on prices to announce.
A second phase, called an early ticket draw, likely will run from Oct. 27-31, with purchase timeslots from mid-November to early December.
A third phase, termed a random selection draw, will start after the final draw of teams on Dec. 5 determines the World Cup schedule. FIFA said tickets will be available closer to the tournament “on a first-come, first-served basis.”
FIFA also said it will start an official resale platform.
Hospitality packages have been sold since May. For the eight matches at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, including the final on July 19, prices range from $3,500 to $73,200 per person.
Fans can purchase tickets to follow a certain team, or purchase for a certain site. Dynamic pricing was also utilized for this year’s Club World Cup, when tickets were cut from $473.90 to $13.40 for the Chelsea-Fluminense semifinal at MetLife Stadium.
“It’s key to highlight FIFA’s mission and FIFA’s objective of providing funding, providing opportunities, providing growth to our sport across all the 211 member associations,” Schirgi said. “And as part of that mission, which we take very seriously, we’re looking at optimizing the revenue, but also optimizing attendance in the stadium, right? So, it’s always a balance between different factors.”
American Airlines announced Wednesday its AAdvantage loyalty program members can redeem miles for World Cup tickets, starting with executive platinum and concierge key members on Oct. 13, with platinum pro, platinum and gold starting the following day and all members having access on Oct. 15.
Thirteen teams in the field have been determined. The U.S., Canada and Mexico all are assured World Cup spots as the host nations, while reigning champion Argentina with Lionel Messi and perennial power Brazil are among the teams that have already secured qualification.
The host nations will play all three of their group stage matches on home soil. The U.S. will open June 12 in Inglewood, California, then play June 19 in Seattle and again June 25 back in Inglewood. Canada will play June 12 in Toronto, then June 18 and June 24 in Vancouver. Mexico will play June 11 and June 24 in Mexico City, with a June 18 match in Guadalajara.
AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
A security official stands nearby as the FIFA World Cup winner's trophy is displayed in a transparent box under a tent, during an event for fans to view it at the Italian Cultural Center in Vancouver, British Columbia, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
People wait to view the FIFA World Cup winner's trophy at the Italian Cultural Center in Vancouver, British Columbia, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Argentina's Lionel Messi smiles during a training session ahead of a World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match against Venezuela, at the Argentina Soccer Association in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call Sunday to lay down arms and seek peace to global conflicts through dialogue, but he departed from a tradition of listing the world's woes by name in the Urbi et Orbi blessing from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, emphasized Easter’s message of hope as a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection after being crucified.
“Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his immense love for us! Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!” the pope implored.
With the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in its second month and Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo acknowledged a sense of indifference “to the deaths of thousands of people ... to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflicts sow … to the economic and social consequences they produce.’’
Without mentioning the wars by name, Leo quoted his predecessor, Pope Francis, who during his last public appearance from the same loggia last Easter reminded the faithful of the “great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day.’’
Francis, weakened by a long illness, died the next day on Easter Monday.
The Urbi et Orbi blessing, Latin for “to the city and the world,’’ has traditionally included a litany of the world’s woes. Leo followed that formula during his Christmas blessing. There was no immediate explanation for the shift.
Earlier, Leo addressed some 50,000 faithful from an open-air altar in St. Peter’s Square flanked with white roses, while the steps leading down to the piazza where the faithful gathered were filled with spring perennials, symbolically resonating with the pope’s words.
He implored the faithful in his homily to keep their hope in the face of death, which lurks "in the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys.’’
Speaking from the loggia, the pope announced a prayer vigil for peace April 11 in the basilica.
Leo greeted the global faithful in 10 languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Latin, reviving a practice that his predecessor Pope Francis had let lapse.
Before retreating into the basilica, Leo stepped forward out of the loggia’s shadow and waved to the cheering crowd below. He later greeted people in the piazza from the popemobile that took him all the way down Via della Conciliazione toward the Tiber River and back.
During the marathon that is Holy Week, Leo also reclaimed the tradition of washing priests’ feet on Holy Thursday, a gesture of encouragement toward clergy, after Francis had chosen a more inclusive path, traveling to prisons and homes for the disabled to wash the feet of women, non-Christians and prisoners.
The 70-year-old pontiff also became the first pope in decades to carry the light wooden cross for the entire 14 stations during the Way of the Cross on Good Friday.
Traditional ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered by Christians as the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, were scaled back under an agreement with Israeli police. Authorities have put limits on the sizes of public gatherings due to ongoing missile attacks.
The restrictions also dampened the recent Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday, as well as the current weeklong Jewish festival of Passover. On Sunday, the Jewish priestly blessing at the Western Wall — normally attended by tens of thousands — was limited to just 50 people.
The restrictions have strained relations between Israeli authorities and Christian leaders. Police last week prevented two of the church’s top religious leaders, including Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from celebrating Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
At the Holy Family church in Gaza City, Catholics young and old gathered for a traditional Easter Mass. Singing, they formed a queue in the aisle, waiting for their chance to kiss a sketch of Jesus held by a member of the clergy who wiped the glass frame between turns.
“There is great joy, especially after the ceasefire and after nearly three years of suffering and being unable to celebrate all the holy holidays,” said George Anton from Gaza City. “People are somewhat relieved and more stable.”
Armenian Christians observed Easter at a church in Iran’s capital on Sunday, striving to maintain a sense of normalcy five weeks into the war.
Families embraced and children exchanged painted eggs at the St. Sarkis Cathedral in central Tehran. Iran’s capital has been targeted by daily airstrikes since the United States and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.
“Whether we like it or not, we have young children who do not understand what’s going on,” said Juanita Arakel, 40, an English language teacher. “They just need to feel normal.”
The Islamic Republic, with a population of around 90 million, is home to some 300,000 Christians, mostly Armenians, and three seats in parliament are reserved for Christians.
“Our calls and prayers are that we will be able to end this war,” said Sepuh Sargsyan, the archbishop of the Armenian Diocese of Tehran. “Our calls and prayers are that we will be able to end this war.”
Barry reported from Milan. Associated Press journalists Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Bassem Mroue in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful at the end of Easter Mass he presided over in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Leo XIV addresses the faithful after delivering the Urbi et Orbi blessing - Latin for "to the city of Rome and to the world" - from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the end of Easter Mass he presided over in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV delivers the Urbi et Orbi blessing - Latin for "to the city of Rome and to the world" - from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the end of Easter Mass he presided over in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV addresses the faithful after delivering the Urbi et Orbi blessing - Latin for "to the city of Rome and to the world" - from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the end of Easter Mass he presided over in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Clergy follow Pope Leo XIV as he presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV arrives to preside over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV sprinkles holy water with a bunch of hyssop sprigs as he presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
