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Embarrassing crisis for FIFA
FIFA has announced the cancellation of 2026 World Cup tickets that nearly 60 fans had obtained for free due to a technical glitch on the tournament’s official website, in the latest scandal to add to a series of crises surrounding the controversial ticketing scheme.
In an official statement released on Thursday evening, FIFA explained that the tickets were “provided free of charge (zero USD) due to a previous issue with the payment process”, regretting the error and any inconvenience it may have caused, stressing that the tickets requested by these fans remain intact and that those affected are invited to complete the correct payment.
A letter sent by FIFA to buyers revealed that the mispriced tickets were offered through the official World Cup website on May 21, more than three months after FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced that all tickets for the tournament’s 104 matches had been sold.
The glitch represents the latest chapter in the controversy surrounding the World Cup ticketing program, which is currently being investigated by prosecutors in the US states of New York and New Jersey for possible violations of consumer protection laws.
FIFA is continuing to sell tickets for the World Cup, which kicks off next Thursday in Mexico City, despite an earlier announcement that all tickets had been sold, while it remains unclear whether seat prices for less popular matches will be reduced under FIFA’s variable pricing model, which has sparked widespread controversy among fans.
FIFA is also running its own resale platform, which takes a 15% commission from both buyers and sellers, in an attempt to cut ticket sellers out of the market, but on Friday sales platforms such as Seat Geek were offering tickets for many matches.
Tickets for the 2026 World Cup are the most expensive in the tournament’s history, which FIFA has argued will help it generate billions of dollars to distribute to member federations to grow the game globally, at a time when criticism of the international federation is growing over its pricing policy and management of its ticket file.
