FIFA accidentally cancels dozens of free World Cup tickets

FIFA has canceled World Cup tickets issued to around 60 fans after a website error allowed them to secure seats without paying, the governing body confirmed on Thursday.

The tickets were “allocated free of charge ($0) due to a previous payment issue during the checkout process,” FIFA said in a statement, adding that affected supporters were asked to complete payment if they wished to keep their bookings.

“FIFA regrets the error and any inconvenience caused,” the organization said. “The tickets requested by these fans remain reserved and the affected fans have been asked to complete payment of the correct amount.”

Tickets went on sale via the official FIFA World Cup website on 21 May. The incident comes more than three months after FIFA president Gianni Infantino declared that all 104 matches of the expanded 2026 World Cup had been sold out.

The latest glitch adds to concerns about FIFA’s ticketing program, which is already under investigation by the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey for possible violations of consumer protection laws.

Despite earlier claims that every match was sold out, tickets remain available through FIFA’s official sales channels ahead of the tournament, which kicks off next Thursday in Mexico City. It remains unclear whether prices for less popular matches will fall under FIFA’s dynamic pricing model, which has faced criticism from supporters.

FIFA also operates its own resale platform, charging a 15 percent commission to both buyers and sellers in an effort to reduce the role of ticket brokers. However, secondary marketplaces such as SeatGeek still showed wide availability for several matches on Friday.

Ticket prices for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have become a major point of discussion, with costs significantly higher than previous editions of the tournament. FIFA has defended the pricing structure, arguing that the revenue generated will help fund football development programs across its member associations.

The governing body took direct control of ticket prices and sales as part of its decision to take over the running of the World Cup. Previous tournaments relied on local organizing committees to manage much of the ticketing process.

When the soccer federations of the United States, Canada and Mexico won the right to host the tournament in 2018, they promised to make hundreds of thousands of group-stage tickets available for just $21. However, the current pricing structure is a far cry from these projections and has become one of the most debated aspects of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

05 Jun 2026 20:09 IST