World Cup 2026

[FootyLovin]

joe / gbservis you are probably right. I imagined the possibility that US is different from Qatar because it is not just ethically troublesome but it is actively disruptive to many people's sense of the world order. But yeah, maybe the venn diagram doesn't intersect much with wealthy soccer fans.

 

[mgarbowski]

Reposting from June with small edits:

Here is how US Soccer allocated ticket chances for 2022 Qatar.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511811336841281541

Some important notes:

• they can change this completely for 2026, or make minor tweaks, or whatever
• even the highest level just got you better odds
• to get into Group A you needed to be a Circle Insider (minimum $500 annual) but you just had to be in that level when the draw happens. There was no benefit to length of membership for Group A.
• My read of Group B was VIP Insiders who joined at any time and Family Insiders active before a 2018 cutoff -- but it's not clear to me if "active" meant at any level or as a Family Insider. But I would assume the latter to be safe
• Group C was Premium plus Family Premium who did not meet the cutoff
• Group D includes all standard insiders
• People in Group A qualify for all 4 draws. If they don't win the first Draw they are re-entered in Draw 2, and so on and of course the first draw has the best odds with the fewest eligible participants
• all guests of the insider must also be insider at any level

Again, this could change, but my takeaways are:

• join at the highest level you can comfortably justify now and maintain for 4 years, and think about upgrading a year ahead of time -- 2025 I guess -- to the highest level you can afford for one year. We have no idea if the Family Insider cut-off rule will apply again, and if so at what level(s). But this approach covers both contingencies at whatever level you can afford
• make sure all your friends and family members are insiders at some level by 2025

I've been a member since 2014. I upgraded in May. I will probably upgrade again in 2025, or maybe 2024, because who knows? I will sign up my family at the same time at the lowest level at least.

Finally, ticket demand among US Soccer fans in 2026 will exceed Qatar by orders of magnitude. I presume demand for Qatar was lower than usual (though who knows, maybe I'm mistaken) and of course demand for games in North America and especially the US will be off the charts.

This week I received both an email and paper mail from US Soccer. The communication does not detail how the process will work, but does reveal that (1) there will be a weighted lottery as expected, and (2) every next higher level of Circle Insider will get you better odds. In the chart I linked in the quoted post, all Circle Insiders were at the same top priority level. That seems no longer to be true. The focus of the letter is: move up to a higher Circle level to get a better chance of getting a ticket allocation. The letter says nothing about membership priority below the Circle levels, which start at $500. That itself does not mean lower levels will get zero priority. Since I am a Circle member they don't want to give me ideas.

Do with this what you will. It doesn't seem like most USMNT fans are in a mood to give more money or be more supportive right now.

 

[Shwafta]

This week I received both an email and paper mail from US Soccer. The communication does not detail how the process will work, but does reveal that (1) there will be a weighted lottery as expected, and (2) every next higher level of Circle Insider will get you better odds. In the chart I linked in the quoted post, all Circle Insiders were at the same top priority level. That seems no longer to be true. The focus of the letter is: move up to a higher Circle level to get a better chance of getting a ticket allocation. The letter says nothing about membership priority below the Circle levels, which start at $500. That itself does not mean lower levels will get zero priority. Since I am a Circle member they don't want to give me ideas.

Do with this what you will. It doesn't seem like most USMNT fans are in a mood to give more money or be more supportive right now.

Our federation has got to be up there as one of the most out of touch.

 

[LionNYC]

This week I received both an email and paper mail from US Soccer. The communication does not detail how the process will work, but does reveal that (1) there will be a weighted lottery as expected, and (2) every next higher level of Circle Insider will get you better odds. In the chart I linked in the quoted post, all Circle Insiders were at the same top priority level. That seems no longer to be true. The focus of the letter is: move up to a higher Circle level to get a better chance of getting a ticket allocation. The letter says nothing about membership priority below the Circle levels, which start at $500. That itself does not mean lower levels will get zero priority. Since I am a Circle member they don't want to give me ideas.

Do with this what you will. It doesn't seem like most USMNT fans are in a mood to give more money or be more supportive right now.

I got a paper letter in the mail to re-up my Circle Level membership for a discount. Looks like US Soccer is just in needs of more recurring cashflow.

 

[mgarbowski]

I got a paper letter in the mail to re-up my Circle Level membership for a discount. Looks like US Soccer is just in needs of more recurring cashflow.

My letters also offered a discount for an upgrade. I cannot tell if such discounts can be available to non members.