More than 1.5 million fans from 210 countries applied for tickets in the first 24 hours of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Visa Presale Draw, FIFA announced on Friday.

The Visa Presale Draw, which runs until 11a.m. ET (17:00 CET) on September 19, is the first phase of ticket sales.

In a press statement, FIFA said the highest number of applications submitted by fans were from the United States, Mexico and Canada followed by their counterparts in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, England, Spain, Portugal and Germany.

FIFA World Cup 26 Chief Operating Officer Heimo Schirgi said that the highest demand has thus far come from fans in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

“The large number of entries submitted is a testament to the huge amount of excitement sparked across the globe by the FIFA World Cup 26 and the extent to which it’s set to become a watershed in football history,” Schirgi said.

He said FIFA timing of a fan’s entry into the Visa Presale Draw during the entry period would not impact the fans’ chances of success and fans who have not yet applied could submit an entry any time before 11 am ET (17:00 CET) on September 19.

He stated that after a randomised selection process, successful applicants would be notified via email starting from September 29, and would be given a date and time slot to purchase tickets, with time slots starting from October 1.

He said fans would be able to secure group-stage tickets from $60 at the start of sales. Single-match tickets to all 104 matches will be made available when ticket sales start, along with venue-specific tickets and team-specific tickets.

FIFA confirmed that subsequent ticket sales phases will begin in October. Further details on the timeline and products are available at FIFA.com/tickets. FIFA encourages fans to purchase tickets only through the FIFA official website.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Anita Omwenga