HOUSTON – If you thought it would be affordable to attend a World Cup game in Houston next year, think again.
It’s been just three days since the schedules were released for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and ticket prices are already blowing through NRG Stadium’s retractable roof.
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Houston’s seven matches are still more than six months away, but the resale market is surging, with some of the cheapest seats for certain matches already pushing $900, especially for Portugal’s appearances.
Across all seven Houston matches, the average resale price is hovering around $672.
Here are the current prices for the cheapest ticket for each of the seven games, according to VividSeats:
- June 14 — Match 10 (Germany vs. Curaçao): $536
- June 17 — Match 23 (Portugal vs. Playoff Winner 1): $932
- June 20 — Match 35 (Netherlands vs. UEFA Playoff Winner B): $536
- June 23 — Match 47 (Portugal vs. Uzbekistan): $655
- June 26 — Match 65 (Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia): $205
- June 29 — Match 76 (Matchup TBD): $876
- July 4 — Match 90 (Matchup TBD): $965
For Houston ticket broker Kayla Ramsey, who serves as the office manager at Houston Ticket Store & Midtown Tickets, none of this is surprising.
“Treat this like a Super Bowl is what I keep telling myself,” Ramsey said. “It is the Super Bowl of soccer. It’s a world event, and soccer has grown so much that everybody’s trying to go.”
Why the prices are so high
Ramsey points to two major drivers: vast demand and FIFA’s dynamic pricing model.
Bigger matches — such as marquee teams or megastars like Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo — are already more expensive.
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Ramsey said she wouldn’t be surprised if a large number of fans from Houston were seen traveling to other host cities for cheaper seats
“I was thinking, maybe if Houston gets too crazy, some people can travel and go to Dallas or Minneapolis or somewhere to watch the game, because it’s gonna be a big demand, and NRG only holds about 70,000 [fans].”
Ticket presales run into January, and brokers are still receiving and verifying their initial inventory. As more tickets hit the market, Ramsey says some fluctuation is possible, but not in the direction fans might hope.
Buy now… or regret it later
“One of the big questions asked by fans has been, ‘Should we buy now or wait, in hopes that prices go down?’”
Ramsey’s advice? Strike while the iron is hot.
“I definitely would buy now,” she said. “I don’t think I’d wait, because that’ll just drive the price up... I think this is probably one of the best prices you’ll see at the beginning.”
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Undesirable match outcomes and injuries to star players could potentially lower the value of certain matches, but Ramsey said she expects early pricing to be the best fans will see before the market tightens.
“If their favorite player gets hurt or their team is knocked out, people may sell. But if a big team is advancing, that can also drive prices up,” she said.
Are Houston fans being priced out?
As soaring ticket prices become routine for major events, there are growing concerns that local fans are getting financially boxed out of the action.
Ramsey says the early signs point to that being the case, but at the end of the day, the fans ultimately dictate the market.
“I believe the fans control the market by how much they buy and what their threshold is on what they want to spend,” she said.
Even so, she says the bulk of buyers she’s seen so far are locals, not international travelers.
“All of my clients have been from Houston,” she said. “They’re soccer fans.”
If you want to go to just one match…
Ramsey offers straightforward advice:
- Lock down who in your group is actually committed.
- Make sure you have payment in hand.
- Try the next round of FIFA ticket releases in December or January.
- If that fails, buy from a local ticket broker, not from strangers online.
- When you buy, make sure you get a receipt, proof of your card transaction, or another verification of authenticity.
- Always check that the ticket is mobile — FIFA will not issue paper tickets.
- Her final advice is simple (and certainly applicable to other walks of life): if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
“I wouldn’t buy from Joe Schmo off Craigslist or Facebook or anything like that,” Ramsey added.
Why go to a broker instead of one of the mainstream ticket apps?
Ramsey says local brokers often beat those big platforms because they avoid the additional fees, saving you money on a ticket that’s already threatening to break your bank.
“Secondary sites usually charge a fee to the buyer and seller — which is about 15 to 20 percent,” she said. If you call a local ticket broker, they have the tickets in their possession, in their inventory. They can save you all those fees and save you a little bit of money on that."
Expect crowds from all over
Houston fans won’t be alone.
“This is a worldwide event,” she said. “People come from all over, and I really think they’re going to be traveling from all over to come watch the World Cup.”