Tickets were sold at the wrong price through the official World Cup site ahead of next week’s FIFA showpiece event.
“Due to a prepayment issue during the checkout process, the tickets were allocated without charge (0 USD),” FIFA said in a statement on Thursday.
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“FIFA regrets this error and any inconvenience it may have caused,” soccer’s ruling body said. “The tickets requested by these fans remain reserved, and affected fans are invited to complete payment of the correct amount.”
It’s the latest imbroglio in the often controversial World Cup ticketing program that the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey are investigating for possible violations of consumer protection laws.
FIFA said in an email message to buyers that mispriced tickets were sold through the official World Cup site on May 21.
It was more than three months since that date when FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that all 104 World Cup games had been sold out.
Tickets are still being sold by FIFA for World Cup games, which begin in Mexico City next Thursday. It is unclear whether the price of seats for low-demand games will drop under FIFA’s surge pricing model, which has been controversial with fans.
FIFA is also operating its own resale platform – and charging a 15 percent commission from both buyers and sellers – in a bid to eliminate ticket dealers from the market. However, sales platforms like SeatGeek were offering wider availability for many games on Friday.
Tickets for the 2026 World Cup are much more expensive than any previous edition, which FIFA has justified as helping earn the billions of dollars it will give member associations to grow the game globally.
FIFA took control of ticket pricing and sales as part of bringing World Cup operations domestically. In previous editions the long-term model was working with the local organizing committees of the host countries.
When the soccer federations of the United States, Canada and Mexico won hosting rights in 2018, they promised to sell hundreds of thousands of tickets for group-stage games at $21 each. FIFA was selling official front row tickets for the final for $32,970.
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