Overview
- Friday’s draw begins at noon ET at the Kennedy Center in Washington, with President Donald Trump expected to attend and a celebrity roster led by Rio Ferdinand, Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal, Wayne Gretzky and Aaron Judge.
- FIFA will present a new annual Peace Prize during the ceremony, with the recipient not announced as coverage notes expectations that Trump could be the inaugural honoree.
- FIFA confirms ringfenced ticket allocations for specified fan categories, including 8% per Participating Member Association at fixed prices, while other inventory uses dynamic pricing.
- Ticket bands publicly cited range from about $60 for group-stage seats to $6,730 for the final, and the official resale platform charges 15% to sellers and 15% to buyers.
- The 48‑team tournament features 12 groups of four with a new Round of 32, opens June 11 at Mexico City’s Azteca and ends July 19 at MetLife Stadium, with specific venues and kickoff times due Saturday; Iran reversed an initial boycott and will send a delegation.