Toronto Fans Are Being Priced Out

The World Cup coming to Toronto is a historic milestone for our city—a celebration of our diverse, soccer-loving communities. However, as the matches draw closer, it has become clear that the average Torontonian is being entirely priced out of experiencing this tournament live.

While the excitement in the city is high, ticket prices on secondary markets have soared out of reach for regular families, youth players, and lifelong sports fans. A celebration meant for the entire community has inadvertently become exclusive.

The Public Investment

What makes this situation particularly challenging is the significant amount of public funding invested into making these games a reality.

Almost $380 million of multi-level government funding was budgeted for the games, with $132.9 million in taxpayer dollars alone allocated to upgrade the stadium infrastructure, adding 17,000 temporary seats alongside permanent upgrades, including 32 new corporate suites and 4,000 premium hospitality seats.

Because the community contributed the vast majority of the financing required to get our stadium tournament-ready, we believe local residents deserve a meaningful opportunity to step inside the gates.

An Opportunity for Collaboration

We are looking for a constructive, collaborative path forward. Other host cities like New York have successfully worked with organizers to secure dedicated, affordable blocks of tickets for residents, distributing them through secure channels to prevent scalping. Toronto can—and should—do the same. We have the infrastructure, and we have the community need.

The Request

We are respectfully asking Mayor Olivia Chow, Premier Doug Ford, Gianni Infantino (FIFA President), Keith Pelley (President & CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment), Tony Staffieri (President & CEO of Rogers Communications), and Sharon Bollenbach (Executive Director, FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat) to come to the table and establish a collaborative framework for local resident access based on the following framework:

Establish a Dedicated Community Allotment: Dedicate a modest portion of any remaining host-city ticket allocations for local community access, including drawing from the guest suites and premium hospitality spaces that public tax dollars helped build.

Create an Accessible Resident Lottery: Offer these seats via a transparent lottery system at an accessible, at-cost price specifically to give local youth clubs, community organizations, and everyday sports fans an equal chance.

Implement Non-Transferable Guardrails: Ensure these specific lottery tickets are strictly non-transferable and tied directly to local identification, completely protecting the initiative from secondary market inflation.

Enforce Ontario's Resale Rules Immediately: We call directly on Premier Doug Ford to take immediate executive action to stop secondary ticketing companies from openly breaking Ontario's new face-value resale laws, protecting all fans from illegal gouging before the opening whistle blows.

Why Your Signature Matters
The people of Toronto deserve better than this. This tournament shouldn't just be for the wealthiest in this city. Sport has the unique power to unite us, but only if everyone has a seat at the table. By signing this petition, you are asking our leaders and corporate partners to work together to ensure that the people who helped build our city's sports legacy get to be a part of it.

Sign today to support affordable, accessible, and community-first World Cup access for Toronto!