FIFA cancels free World Cup tickets after checkout error
FIFA voided about 60 free World Cup tickets after a checkout glitch, as New York and New Jersey regulators probed ticketing practices before the 2026 tournament.
About 60 World Cup buyers saw their seats vanish after FIFA discovered that a checkout error let the tickets go through at no charge. The governing body told affected fans on Wednesday, June 3, that the seats had been “allocated at no charge (0 USD) due to a prior payment issue during the checkout process,” then asked them to pay the correct amount in full if they wanted to keep the reservations.
The mistake landed at a sensitive moment for FIFA, with the 2026 World Cup set to open in Mexico City on June 11 and end July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The tournament is being cohosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, and many supporters are already locking in travel, lodging and match-day plans. Even a relatively small pricing failure now carries outsized consequences because it can disrupt fans who believed they had secured access to soccer’s biggest event.
FIFA said the mispriced tickets were sold through its official World Cup site on May 21, 2026. The episode has sharpened scrutiny of a sales process that was already drawing criticism over dynamic pricing and FIFA’s resale marketplace, which the organization says is designed to cut out ticket dealers but takes a 15% commission from both buyers and sellers. Those features have raised questions about how much control supporters actually have over prices, seat quality and final transaction terms.
The controversy also overlaps with legal pressure. The New York and New Jersey attorneys general subpoenaed FIFA on May 27, 2026, over ticketing practices, including reports that some fans may have been misled about seat locations and faced soaring prices. The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection has backed that inquiry, with commissioner Samuel A.A. Levine calling the allegations deeply troubling. The focus includes MetLife Stadium, which is scheduled to host eight World Cup matches, including the final.
The dispute cuts against FIFA’s attempt to project certainty around demand. AP reporting said FIFA president Gianni Infantino said all 104 World Cup games had sold out more than three months before the free-ticket cancellations surfaced, even though tickets were still being sold for some matches. The gap between that message and the backlash over pricing has revived memories of the 2018 hosting pitch, when the United States, Canada and Mexico promised hundreds of thousands of group-stage tickets at $21 each.
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