World Cup Visa Presale Wrapped
Visa Presale Draw Results
I know 5 people personally who were accepted into the Visa Presale Draw.
3 received emails on 10/3 for 10/6
1 on 10/7 for 10/9
1 on 10/10 for 10/13
Rejection emails were sent on 10/15
I have no idea how many people I know applied, so I have no estimate as to what percentage of people were accepted into it. It seemed like there was a greater availability for the earlier dates, but they did seem to release more over time. The prices seem to have changed throughout the period, so keep that in mind.
Below are some screenshots. From left to right, it’s a positive acceptance email, then what products are available, then the FIFA website detailing what time slot this person got. It looks like upon success in the draw, you get a 1-2 day notice, before your window starts. And then you’ll hop in at that time and just have a free for all to try and get tickets. It sounds like it’s chaotic and messy. Even if you cart something they can disappear. So cart and buy fast. Know what you want and go get it!
I have no idea how many people I know applied, so I have no estimate as to what percentage of people were accepted into it. It seemed like there was a greater availability for the earlier dates, but they did seem to release more over time. The prices seem to have changed throughout the period, so keep that in mind. For reference, so people have an idea what other people are spending in actuality, their anonymized ticket purchases were (each person is A-E):
| Round | Location | Match | Category | Gross Unit Price | Quantity | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anything in italics, I don’t have confirmation or proof of, but are just some estimates to give you an idea. While categories obviously are an important factor to price, cities also seem to have some huge variations. New Jersey, Miami, and Los Angeles are coming up really expensive, versus Seattle, Boston, and Philly which are more discounted. So keep that in mind for budgeting. Here are some of those receipts.
Person E came in and decided with the limited availability (the example given was Kansas City Group Stage Cat2 for $310) that none of them were worth it. And decided to wait for the next round with more availability hopefully.
The internet suggests that about 15-20% of tickets were allocated towards this round, so there are still plenty more to go in the following rounds. This was one of the more helpful posts I saw about the ticket purchasing experience.
Early Ticket Draw
October 27th is when the next application window opens. This is likely the “big” one. So best of luck to us then! We’ll see what it looks like then, and I’ll probably post around then to update everyone.
“Phase 2: Early Ticket Draw, with the registration window expected to take place from 27 to 31 October and time slots for purchase from mid-November to early December. Similar to the first phase, this will consist of an application, followed by a randomised selection process. Successful applicants will receive a time slot to purchase tickets (subject to availability).”
Some other weird schemes that were going on in this first stage were by Verizon and American Airlines. Verizon had an hourly drop one day and some daily drops at 2 PM, all of which seemed utterly impossible. I tried more than a few times, without success (see pictures below, this is literally a second after it opens). The internet believed that there may have literally only been two tickets available for each drop… since no Seemed more like a way to boost their app downloads and engagement than a real option. Welp, deleting the app and rating it low. All’s fair. American Airlines offered tickets that were available with AA miles. They’re mostly all sold out now, but they were starting at 65,000 miles generally for more than 100,000 miles. The final is being offered for basically 1 million miles… which is quite a lot. Anyway, not really much of a deal. I’m sure we’ll start seeing more partnership schemes soon. We’ll keep an eye out for Aramco, Adidas, Coca-Cola, Hyundai / Kia, Qatar Airways, and Lenovo offering some tickets.
FIFA Collect Right to Final Update
My apologies, regarding my analysis of FIFA Collect months ago, it is looking like I was very incorrect. While it is still unclear how much they will actually sell for, the current resale listing prices for the World Cup Final absolutely exceed my original estimates. I built my original math on if the World Cup Final ticket would be sold direct for $1,400 and could be resold at $3,000. It looks like the direct cost will be around $2,500 and the resale market will be at least $10,000. I’ve updated those values and the odds to win (really the major difference is that Argentina has become less likely to win), some of those Right to Final packs actually have an expected value that is profitable. Now, at this early stage and referencing just listed prices, is obviously flawed. Anyone purchasing to resell immediately is probably a professional scalper and is doing this math already, so those prices are probably biased towards a breakeven return. But… I guess… if you bought RTB tickets for Spain, England, France, and Brazil you technically are forecasted to be in the green. I still think it’s insane, but the math currently is valid. We’ll see how many transactions actually take place at those resale values.
New Qualifiers
Joining the 18 already qualified, we’re now up to 28. Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde (first timers!), South Africa, Qatar, England, Saudi Arabia, Ivory Coast, and Senegal.
Also the Intercontinental Play-Offs or FIFA Play-Off Tournament is shaping up to be a real fun amuse bouche before the tournament starts. Set in March, I would highly recommend watching some of these matches because they’re bound to be dramatic and emotional. A 6 team bracket, with two teams progressing to the main tournament, it’ll be really exciting. So far we have Bolivia and New Caledonia waiting for an Asian, an African, and two Central / North American countries to qualify.
Lots of new kits to order too. Here’s the breakdown of those 28, and an ever expanding Want list.
Jersey Distribution
The Want list? Here you go, you nosy sons of guns:
A South Korea Son kit is basically at the top of the list.
A Canadian Makar hockey jersey has been a priority for a long time.
A New Zealand All Blacks kit has been on the list for years.
Cape Verde is a great story, and I’m sure their games will be a lot of fun. There’s a cool story circulating about the origin story to their recruitment of Roberto Lopes via a LinkedIn message in Portuguese, that he couldn’t read, so they followed up a year later in English and he joined his father’s homeland, despite being born in Ireland! Incredible. LinkedIn! Get this team sponsored!
Senegal is a cool country, and a Mane kit would be great since my Liverpool one is currently peeling.
I think I’m going to wait until the 2026 kits are released later this year. November for Adidas and Puma’s home kits, then their away kits and all of Nike’s in the spring.
Oh and because it’s ridiculous, here’s the LinkedIn message he received from Rui Aguas, the head coach of the Cape Verde national team. Translated below:
“I'm a coach for the Cape Verde national team. I'd like to know if you'd be interested in joining the team. We're revamping the team and plan to be present at the 2022 World Cup, which would be historic. The team is good, and so is the environment. I await your feedback. I speak English if necessary. Best regards.”
