GENEVA, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- FIFA said Monday it has received more than 150 million ticket requests for the 2026 World Cup, setting a new World Cup ticketing record with the Random Selection Draw phase only at its halfway point.

Fans from over 200 countries and regions flooded the platform at FIFA.com/tickets after the Random Selection Draw ticketing phase opened on December 11. The phase will end on January 13, 2026.

FIFA said the 2026 World Cup is oversubscribed more than 30-fold based on verified individual credit card numbers submitted with each ticket application, and that demand is 3.4 times higher than the overall number of spectators who have attended the 964 matches that make up all 22 editions of the competition combined since 1930.

"The FIFA World Cup 2026 is set to be the greatest and most inclusive show on the planet," said FIFA president Gianni Infantino. "This overwhelming response from passionate fans is a true representation of how our game is loved globally - we are going to make history in North America when we bring the world together like never before in a celebration of unity and the best of football."

The 2026 World Cup will kick off on June 11, with the final scheduled for July 19 across 16 cities in Canada, Mexico and the United States. A total of 104 matches will be played between a record 48 teams. ■