With the largest football event kicking off today, fans in the US, Mexico and Canada will be able to secure their seats without spending a dime by booking stays in one of the 16 host cities.
Spanning three host nations, 48 teams and a staggering 104 matches, soon the world’s footballing legends will compete on the sport’s grandest stage – all in pursuit of lifting the golden FIFA World Cup 2026 trophy.
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Didn’t manage to secure your tickets yet? Good news, as Airbnb is offering fans the chance to secure free tickets up for grabs to see the action in person.
From the group stage and knockout round of 32 all the way to the nail-biting final match, guests booking select stays across the tournament’s 16 host cities will be treated to free tickets to watch the games.
Whether booking via the app or website, fans keen on securing a free seat on match days should keep an eye out for listings marked with a football icon, which indicates that the stay includes FIFA tickets for each guest on the reservation.
“Airbnb hosts don’t just offer you a place to stay – they provide a more authentic way to experience a destination,” said Dave Stephenson, chief business officer of Airbnb.
“And this World Cup, they’re doing something extraordinary: helping fans follow their teams wherever the tournament takes them, with select homes including free tickets in every host city.”
Airbnb said over 1,300 tickets have been given away across its latest stay and watch the play initiative, as well as previous surprise tickets given to guests during the group stage.
When can fans book to secure free tickets?
Fans can already start browsing for participating stays, but when can you lock in a booking?
For World Cup group stage and knockout round of 32 games, bookings started on 10 June across Los Angeles, Boston, Monterrey, New York/New Jersey, Mexico City, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Kansas City and Dallas
For round of 16 matches, bookings will start 18 June at participating stays across Philadelphia, Houston, New York/New Jersey, Mexico City, Dallas and Seattle.
Booking for the semi finals start 9 July in Dallas and Atlanta, while fans wanting to catch the World Cup final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, which is near New York City, bookings across stays in New Jersey/New York starts 16 July.
A night's sleep in stays participating in the campaign average at $385 (€333.28) per night.
The 2026 tournament has courted controversy, especially regarding ticket prices.
In May, the states of New York and New Jersey launched formal investigations, putting the football governing body's "variable pricing" methods, where ticket prices constantly fluctuate depending on demand and availability, under scrutiny. The complaint includes concerns about FIFA misleading fans about ticket prices, as well as the accuracy of seat allocations.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Euroconsumers, a European consumer rights organisation, also found that many fans missed out on affordable tickets due to "variable pricing" practices. Despite FIFA promising group-stage games starting at $60 (€51.77), prices soared as high as $4,185 (€3,628.48) for the final match.
“Let’s put a stop to this dynamic pricing. Let’s be very clear on how many tickets you [FIFA] still have and for where. Announce in all transparency what will be the prices,” said Els Bruggeman, Head of Policy and Enforcement at Euroconsumers.
This is further complicated by FIFA's resale platform, which levies a 15% fee on both buyers and sellers on resold tickets. According to the Financial Times, as many as 180,000 tickets remained available on official resale platforms with matches only hours away, fuelling concerns over empty seats and muted atmospheres in stadiums.
