Football’s world governing body FIFA announced on Wednesday that it received more than 500 million ticket requests for this year’s World Cup, despite growing controversy over the high cost of attending the tournament.

In a statement, FIFA said applications were submitted by fans from all 211 of its member nations and territories for the competition, which will be hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The application window for the ticket lottery closed on Tuesday, with FIFA confirming that fans will be informed whether their requests were successful “no earlier than 5 February.”

Outside the three host countries, the strongest demand came from supporters in Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Colombia.

The most in-demand match was Colombia’s group-stage clash with Portugal in Miami on June 27. Mexico’s encounter with South Korea in Guadalajara on June 18 ranked second, followed by the World Cup final, scheduled to take place in New Jersey on July 19.

“Half a billion ticket requests in just over a month is more than demand — it’s a global statement,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said. “I would like to thank and congratulate football fans everywhere for this extraordinary response.”

“Knowing how much this tournament means to people around the world, our only regret is that we cannot welcome every fan inside the stadiums,” he added.

FIFA has faced sustained criticism over its ticket pricing strategy for the expanded 48-team World Cup, with supporter groups describing prices as “extortionate” and “astronomical.”

Football Supporters Europe (FSE) said ticket costs were nearly five times higher than those at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In response to the backlash, FIFA introduced a new category of discounted tickets in December, priced at 60 US dollars (£45).