The latest phase of FIFA’s ticket lottery for the 2026 World Cup has not gone off without a hitch.
Though a schedule won’t be out until after the World Cup draw occurs next month in Washington, D.C., one million tickets are progressively being made available through FIFA’s early ticketing process for matches that take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada beginning June 11. The newest batch were released through a randomized lottery system on Monday, Nov. 17, but many fans encountered the same problem ‘captcha’ error when trying to purchase tickets.
A ‘captcha’ test is typically designed to determine if an online user is really a human and not a bot, via a question or image. The captcha image used for FIFA’s ticketing process on Monday, however, appeared to be malfunctioning and not loading properly for lots of people trying to secure their spot at the World Cup. And they weren’t thrilled to be getting an error message.
The early ticket draw period for the 2026 World Cup began on Oct. 27 after the conclusion of the Visa presale in September. This second phase included a lottery reserved for fans from only the three host countries. Monday’s ticket sales were for fans from the United States, Mexico, Canada and across the globe. If selected by lottery, they can purchase available single-match and team-specific game tickets.
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“We already have seen massive interest from around the world for this tournament, and especially from within the host countries as Canada, Mexico and the United States prepare to host the biggest FIFA World Cup yet,” FIFA World Cup 2026 COO Heimo Schirgi said in a statement last month. “This second phase, with its host country domestic exclusivity time slot, will allow us to say thank you to these local fans, while ensuring global opportunity as well.”