FIFA has changed the game for World Cup fans, but not in any way they could’ve been hoping for.
With just over two months until kickoff of this summer’s tournament, FIFA has created a new category for ticket sales: Front Category 1.
The new category of tickets encompasses premium front-row seats that had previously been zoned in Category 1 — and carry a price tag that is at least double the original cost in some cases.
Henry Bushnell of The Athletic reported that this new ‘Front Category 1” had not been advertised or mentioned until now, after tickets began to be assigned to seats last week.
How had ticket categories been assigned?
When FIFA originally launched ticket sales in September 2025 for the World Cup being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S., it did so by selling off unassigned seats in different categories at each stadium. Premium seats in the lower sections of the stadium fell into the most expensive Category 1, with prices set by using FIFA’s “dynamic” ticket pricing plan.
With categories encompassing large areas and many different sections of stadiums, it seemingly became a lottery as to where any given customer could have their seat assigned – with many left fuming and feeling “scammed” after paying top dollar and being slotted into lesser-desired areas of the given category.
There had been hopes by fans of scoring a potential front-row seat for the match they potentially paid thousands of dollars to attend, but that seemingly has been squashed by FIFA.
A week after the tickets were assigned, FIFA began selling the new Front Category 1 for at least 20 games, as per The Athletic, as well as Front Category 2 for the first several rows in some sections.
How does this impact games in Toronto?
While not all stadiums appear to be affected by this late change, games being played in Toronto have been.
For Canada’s opening game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are several tickets listed on FIFA’s official site for $4,705, which is nearly 50% higher than the price that the same seats theoretically held just last week.
While the site lists a price range for Front Category 1 as starting at $3,135, either they had quickly been sold or hadn’t been available to begin with.
As of Friday morning, only 19 seats remain available for the June 12 game, with all being located in lesser-desired corner sections.
Two other games being played at the temporarily renamed Toronto Stadium on the Exhibition Grounds also had the new category of ticket available as of Friday morning.
The remaining premium seats for the match between Germany and Cote d’Ivoire were listed at $2,700 – triple the price of Category 1 tickets for the game.
Panama vs. Ghana on June 17 had tickets on sale for $1,575, a steep increase from the previous $630 maximum.
According to The Athletic, FIFA has not responded to a request for comment as to why these “front” seats weren’t allocated to fans who’d applied for Category 1 tickets in the previous “Random Selection Draw.”
How much are tickets on resale market?
FIFA’s switcheroo on seating categories after heavy criticism emerged over the price of tickets on the resale market.
Tickets for the Canadian men’s national team’s opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina have dramatically increased in price on resale markets, with the cheapest ticket for the June 12 game priced at roughly $2,000 after having reached $2,700 last week.
Bosnia and Herzegovina clinched its spot in the 2026 World Cup on March 31 after scoring an upset victory over powerhouse Italy in the qualifier playoff final. The Dragons won the match on penalty kicks after the game was tied 1-1 after extra time.
With Italy – which boasts a large group of fans in Toronto and the GTA — having been favoured to win and qualify for the tournament, ticket prices had been expected to cool for Canada’s opener.
Instead, prices have nearly doubled their original value.
Category 4 tickets — the cheap seats, if you will — originally were sold through the FIFA website for around $1,300. Category 1 tickets came with an original price of $3,035 each, but can now be found on StubHub for up to $62,000.