Toronto spent tax dollars on World Cup tickets. The city says it’s almost sold them all

The City of Toronto says only a fraction of the 2026 FIFA World Cup tickets it bought as an investment remain unsold, with the soccer gamble looking set to pay off a week before the games begin.

Officials put a plan into action last year to use host city privileges to buy more than 3,500 general admissions tickets to the six international soccer matches taking place in Toronto, planning to sell them on for a profit to fund future events.

Fifty-two of the tickets were put aside to run a sweepstakes, while the city also shelled out millions more to buy hospitality tickets to be resold as “a revenue generation strategy.”

Now, with one week to go until Canada versus Bosnia and Herzegovina marks the beginning of the World Cup in Toronto, the city is suggesting its strategy has paid off.

“There are currently less than 70 unsold tickets of the 3,546 tickets purchased, and these are expected to sell out through the Host City Donor agreements before the tournament,” a spokesperson told Global News.

They said the tickets had been sold to “groups ranging from corporations to the passionate supporters of the countries playing in Toronto, ensuring a return on the City of Toronto’s investment, and providing access to this historic event.”

The city added that, even with another 70 tickets still to shift, the initial multi-million-dollar spend had been covered and Toronto would indeed generate revenue from the venture.

Officials would not say how much money they were expecting to take in.

In total, Toronto will host six matches at BMO Field, which has been rebranded as Toronto Stadium for the duration of the World Cup.

Countries set to play in the city include Germany, Senegal and Croatia, with games taking place between June 12 and July 2.

The total cost is currently pegged at $380 million, with contributions from federal, provincial and municipal governments.

The largest share is being paid by the City of Toronto.