Were you not selected for the World Cup Visa presale last month? Well, your second chance to buy tickets directly from the organizers is coming up, but first, you need to get registered.
The “Early Ticket Draw” is the second public onsale in the multi-stage sales process for FIFA. However, unlike the first draw, the registration window for this one is only five days, from October 27 to October 31 at 11:00 a.m. ET.
A couple of notes about this lottery:
- Unlike the previous lottery, which required a Visa card to participate, this one has no limitations on payment methods.
- Similar to the previous lottery, approximately one million tickets will be made available via this presale.
- There will be a “host country domestic exclusivity time slot” for residents of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, where winning entrants will have the chance to purchase tickets for matches in their home country.
- Winning fans will be notified no earlier than November 7, and at least 48 hours prior to their selection window, and sales will begin on November 12.
Interestingly, FIFA has reported that 75% of the single-game tickets available in this phase of the sales process will be made available during the domestic exclusivity time slot. Meaning, we assume, that lottery winners who do not reside in the US, Canada, or Mexico, or residents of those countries who want to purchase tickets for a match in another country, will have very limited chances to do so.
But what are the chances you’ll actually get tickets?
We hate to say this, but … low (at least via the direct method of purchasing them from FIFA). Here’s how some of the numbers break down:
- 104 matches are being played in 16 venues across North America.
- The total number of tickets available is approximately seven million.
- The total number of lottery entrants in the first round was 4.5 million (and we can expect a similar or greater number for the second round, since it does not have a specific payment method limitation).
- Each winning entrant was entitled to purchase as many as 40 tickets across all events (but no more than four tickets to any given match).
So, if one million tickets were made available during that first round, and each winner purchased all 40 tickets they were allowed, that means as few as 25,000 fans would have been able to secure tickets as part of that lottery draw. And remember … that’s out of 4.5 million fans who registered. That’s a .5% chance of getting tickets through the first lottery.
Unfortunately, the rules appear to be the same for this second draw. Another one million tickets will be made available, but each winner is still allowed to purchase 40 tickets. But even if each fan purchased only four tickets, it would still mean that only 250,000 fans, out of a potential pool of 4.5 million or more, would get tickets. That would be a 5.5% chance of getting tickets.
And what about those affordable tickets we heard about?
Well, this one was fairly predictable. From the moment that FIFA said that tickets would be “dynamically priced”, we knew that the rumored $60 tickets would be fleeting. And indeed, they were.
In addition to there being very few of these tickets to begin with, dynamic pricing quickly drove up the prices of all tickets. Which demonstrated that the $60 “get-in” price was really nothing more than a publicity / public relations stunt.
For this round, we don’t know if prices will once again start at $60, or if the “dynamic pricing” will immediately carry over from the previous lottery. Regardless, fans should expect to pay quite a bit more than originally suggested for tickets if they are able to purchase them.
Next Steps
Well, you can’t win if you don’t enter, so … you might as well do that. Here’s the link for the lottery draw, and remember – the deadline is 11am ET on Friday, October 31.
But keep in mind: the schedule for the World Cup has still not been released. So other than the already determined matches involving the US, Canadian, and Mexican teams, the rest of the schedule is unknown. So you still won’t know exactly what you’re buying if you participate in this presale.
The third lottery will take place in December, after the tournament draw is determined. That will be the first chance to purchase tickets with 100% certainty about what you’re purchasing for every match.
