Three Lions fans snap up 2026 World Cup packages… in three days
Hospitality tickets to watch England at next summer’s World Cup sold out within three days of being put on sale last week, with fans eager to secure the right to follow Thomas Tuchel’s side in the US, Canada and Mexico at the first opportunity.
Fifa released hospitality packages last Monday for the group and first knockout stage, including a follow-my-team package for each side’s first four matches priced between £7,400 and £8,500-per-person, but by Wednesday evening guaranteed tickets for England’s games were no longer available.
Fifa and its official hospitality provider On Location declined to comment, but sources indicated that more England packages may be made available after the 2026 World Cup draw takes place in December.
Hospitality tickets for the 44 other World Cup contestants – they are not being sold for hosts USA, Canada and Mexico – remain on sale.
The England packages are the only games to have sold out so far, indicating huge demand despite fans not yet knowing where the Three Lions will be playing. In addition to follow-my-team packages, fans can also buy single match hospitality tickets or a series of between four and nine games at a single venue.
Fifa has yet to announce prices for general admission tickets for the World Cup, with tickets to be released in phases. The first opportunity for fans to register for tickets will be 10 September, with more to be made available after the draw.
Fifa is planning to follow the controversial dynamic pricing model used during the recent Club World Cup, as it is standard practice for sports events in America, despite the system leading to wild fluctuations in pricing during this summer’s tournament.
Tickets for Chelsea’s semi-final against Fluminense in New Jersey were reduced to just $13.40 the day before the game, having been priced at $473.90 less than 72 hours earlier.
With 104 games in the first 48-team World Cup next summer, Fifa is targeting more than 6m in ticket sales and projecting $13bn in revenues for the four-year cycle ending with the tournament.
Host cities made to work
The World Cup host cities have been charged with selling their own sponsorship deals for the first time, with Fifa determined to stage the most lucrative sporting event ever next summer.
The 16 venues have been tasked with assembling a portfolio of 10 host city partners, on the proviso that they cannot be competitors to any of Fifa’s existing sponsors.
Fifa has already negotiated global sponsorship deals with Coca-Cola, Visa, Adidas, McDonald’s, Verizon and Unilever, but is still on the lookout for regional partners.
Fifa’s bullishness is well founded according to a report published last month by London-based agency Pitch Marketing Group, which forecast that revenue from the tournament would top $10bn (£7.4bn) due to a worldwide audience of over 5bn people, almost two thirds of the world’s population.
Liverpool’s kit conundrum
Liverpool have taken kits produced by both current sponsors Nike and new suppliers Adidas on their pre-season tour of Asia to avoid a possible breach of contract.
The Premier League champions are under contract with Nike until the end of the month so Arne Slot’s side will wear last season’s kit for friendlies against AC Milan and FC Yokohama in Hong Kong and Tokyo, with their new £60m-a-year deal with Adidas beginning on 1 August.
Liverpool are due to fly back from Tokyo on 31 July but, with the possibility of delays, may not arrive back in England until 1 August.
Having players photographed disembarking the plane wearing Nike tracksuits would technically put Liverpool in breach of their contract with Adidas, so the club have taken spare kit to cover all eventualities.
Everton’s MoneySuperMarket Stadium miss
Everton fans unhappy that their new ground will be called the Hill Dickinson Stadium after the club agreed a £10m-a-year naming rights deal with the law firm should console themselves with the fact that the bland moniker could be far worse.
City PM has learned that under the club’s previous owner, Farhad Moshiri, Everton were in advanced negotiations over a possible deal with a well-known tech firm which would have involved calling their new home the MoneySuperMarket Stadium.
New owners The Friedkin Group walked away from those discussions in preference for a partnership with Hill Dickinson, a law firm founded in Liverpool in 1810 which now has offices across Europe, the US and Asia.
Sky in Wasserman Boxing talks
Sky Sports has held talks with Wasserman Boxing about broadcasting some of its fighters’ bouts after exiting a four-year deal with Boxxer last month.
Sky is understood to retain an interest in boxing, but felt it had overinvested in the Boxxer contract which led to significant losses.
Wasserman, whose fighters include Josh Kelly and Harlem Eubank, has a contract with Channel 5 to show at least six fights per year, but it is a 12-month rolling deal which gives them the option to pursue other partnerships.
Scheffler’s £1m tax bill for Open win
Scottie Scheffler is facing a £1m tax bill from HMRC after winning the Open at Royal Portrush last week.
The American is due £2.3m in prize money as a result of lifting the Claret Jug for the first time, but almost half of it will disappear in tax payments.
World No1 Scheffler can, however, offset overseas tax against his domestic contributions.