In a sign of just how crassly commercialized next summer’s World Cup games in Santa Clara are going to be, the World Cup ticket lottery begins on Wednesday, but you’re only allowed to enter the first round of the lottery if you’re a Visa customer.
We are just about nine months from the first World Cup games at Levi’s Stadium. Except they’re not allowed to call it Levi’s Stadium, because of FIFA sponsorship rules that dictate corporate names cannot be displayed at a World Cup game unless that corporation is an official FIFA sponsor. Levi’s is not, so the stadium will be temporarily renamed “San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.”
Either way, tickets will be distributed via a lottery system, and NBC Bay Area reports that lottery begins Wednesday, September 10 at 8 am PT, and runs through the morning of Friday, September 12 at 8 am PT. But as that station also points out, you can only get into the lottery if you’re a Visa card holder.
Oh wait, according to a FIFA press release, that lottery is only open to "qualifying Visa cardholders.” What “qualifting” means is not explained. But if you only have a Mastercard, then sorry sucker, you can’t enter the ticket lottery until December.
“The countdown to FIFA World Cup 26 starts now, and lucky Visa cardholders get the first shot,” Visa Chief Marketing Officer Frank Cooper III said in that release. “Through our partnership with FIFA, we’re proud to help fans take the first step toward the stadiums — offering a chance at early access to tickets and the peace of mind that comes with secure, seamless payment. This is where the road to the FIFA World Cup begins — and it starts with Visa.”
Probably even Visa card holders threw up in their mouth reading that.
You can still get into the ticket lottery eventually if you’re not a Visa customer, and depending on how well these things sell, you might not even have to enter a ticket lottery. As shown in the graphic above, the general ticket lottery for everyone opens on December 5. And then “last minute sales” will get underway “closer to tournament." That sounds like FIFA is giving themselves some wiggle room, in case Trump’s immigration policies siphon demand for tickets.
We’ve seen this model of exclusive sales to certain credit card brands’ ticket holders for several recent concert tours, and surely Visa paid the insanely corrupt FIFA handsomely for this privilege.
Regardless, the World Cup games in Santa Clara will be the introductory “group round” games, which are not the final rounds, and the games will be on June 13, 16, 19, 22, and 25, 2026, with an additional Round of 32 match on July 1, 2026
Image: BELGRADE, SERBIA - SEPTEMBER 09: Ezri Konsa of England scores his team's third goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Serbia and England at Rajko Mitic Stadium on September 09, 2025 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
