2018 FIFA World Cup tickets: last-minute sales phase starts and FIFA Venue Ticketing Centres open April 18

With less than two months left until the start of the biggest single-sport event on the planet, fans across the globe will have another opportunity to apply for tickets for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia when last-minute sales commence tomorrow, 18 April 2018, at 12:00 Moscow time (11:00 CET) at FIFA.com/tickets. This window will then be open until the end of the tournament.

1,698,049 tickets have already been allocated to football supporters from all over the world via the official website at FIFA.com/tickets since September 2017.

Most of these tickets have been allocated to Russian fans (796,875), followed by fans from the USA (80,161), Brazil (65,863), Colombia (60,199), Germany (55,136), Mexico (51,736), Argentina (44,882), Peru (38,544), China (36,841), Australia (34,628) and England (30,711) – the top-ten countries from abroad.

Sales resume at FIFA.com/tickets

The last-minute sales phase will start tomorrow at 12:00 Moscow time, when fans will be able to purchase tickets online, subject to availability, in real time and on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets for all matches will be available. This includes category 4 tickets for selected matches, which are exclusively reserved for Russian residents. Fans are advised to place their order as soon as this sales phase opens, as high demand is expected and tickets are likely to sell out very quickly. A traffic light system on FIFA.com/tickets will give fans an indication about availability. Due to the possibility of tickets being resold through FIFA.com/tickets and the possible release of ticket inventories reserved for selected FIFA constituent groups, tickets for specific matches, which at some point could be unavailable, may possibly become available again.

FIFA Venue Ticketing Centres to also open on 18 April

Together with the start of the last-minute sales phase, FIFA Venue Ticketing Centres (FVTC) will open in all 2018 FIFA World Cup Host Cities on 18 April at 14:00 local time. More details are available here.

Initially, the FVTCs will only be a place for fans to collect tickets that they have purchased online at FIFA.com/tickets. As of 1 May, fans will also be able to purchase tickets over the counter at the FVTCs, depending on availability.

Tickets purchased before the start of the last-minute sale phase will be delivered free of charge to fans in the weeks leading up to the tournament, with deliveries planned to start in mid-April/May.

Alfa-Bank, a Regional Supporter of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, has exclusive rights to offer banking services to millions of football fans from all around the world at the upcoming tournament in Russia.

"We are happy to support FIFA with its ticketing operations with the aim of ensuring maximum comfort and service for all football fans and World Cup guests," said Alfa-Bank chairman of the board Andrey Sokolov.

Payment methods

Tickets may be purchased online by using Visa payment cards or Visa Checkout. Visa is the official payment services partner of FIFA. To find out more about payment methods, please click here.

Ticket transfer and resale

Once the last-minute sales phase is open, a special ticket transfer and resale platform will be launched at FIFA.com/tickets, allowing ticket holders to change guests and resell their tickets in accordance with the set policies. More details are available here.

FIFA.com/tickets – the only official source

Given the remarkable level of interest from all over the world, FIFA would like to remind all football fans that FIFA.com/tickets is the only official and legitimate website on which to buy 2018 FIFA World Cup tickets. Tickets obtained from any other source will be automatically cancelled once identified and will not entitle the ticket holder to access the stadium or to any refund or other compensation.

FIFA regards the illicit sale and distribution of tickets as a serious issue and in cooperation with local authorities, including consumer protection agencies in numerous countries, strives to identify and curb unauthorised ticket sales. As a result, a number of unauthorised online ticket sale offers via websites and on social media in various countries have been removed in recent months.

Special access tickets

FIFA has also made an allocation of tickets available for disabled people and people with limited mobility in accordance with the number of special access seats available in the 12 stadiums. For more information, please click here.

FAN ID

At the request of the Russian authorities, all fans attending matches at the 2018 FIFA World Cup need to apply for a FAN ID – the official identity document issued to fans. Fans are encouraged to apply for this free document as soon as possible after they have received their ticket confirmation email.

A FAN ID and a valid ticket are required for fans to be able to enter the 2018 FIFA World Cup stadiums. Having a FAN ID gives fans additional benefits and services provided by the host country, such as visa-free entry to the Russian Federation, certain free inter-host city travel and free use of public transport on matchdays. For further details, please visit www.fan-id.ru.

FIFA does not assume any liability or responsibility concerning the application, issue and/or use of FAN IDs.

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