New York and New Jersey officially investigate FIFA over World Cup ticket sales

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FT Desk

The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey have launched an official investigation into FIFA's ticket pricing strategy for the 2026 World Cup.

Ever since the price of World Cup match tickets was confirmed, FIFA has received intense criticism from fans, pundits, players and host cities.

Group stage matches are, on average, three times as expensive as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and higher-profile matches are a lot more expensive than that. For example, FIFA is struggling to sell out the USA's opening group stage match against Paraguay as it is the third-most expensive fixture of the tournament.

At one stage, New Zealand versus Iran at the same venue was outselling USA versus Paraguay.

There's also the very real World Cup final match ticket being posted on a reselling platform for $2 million.

Normal fans believe they are being muscled out of the tournament due to the exorbitant prices.

New Jersey and New York have had enough as they have subpoenaed FIFA to request information about the organisation's pricing strategy, specifically about matches taking place in the MetLife Stadium.

"New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced an investigation into FIFA’s ticketing practices for the upcoming World Cup tournament," a statement said.

"Recent press reports indicate that fans may have been misled about the locations of the seats they were purchasing, and FIFA’s public statements and ticket releases may have contributed to soaring prices. The attorneys general today sent subpoenas to FIFA seeking information about its ticketing practices and are specifically requesting details about ticketing practices for eight World Cup matches hosted in New Jersey, including the World Cup final on July 19, 2026."

Attorney General Davenport said: "Being honest about ticket sales is not complicated. But FIFA has turned buying a ticket to the World Cup into a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity, and impossibly high prices – all at the expense of consumers and hardworking New Jerseyans. We are committed to conducting a thorough investigation of FIFA’s conduct, and we are proud to stand together with Attorney General James in protecting our consumers. It’s an honor to host the World Cup, but the event is not an invitation to exploit our residents and visitors.”

Attorney General James said: “New Yorkers have been waiting years for the World Cup to come to their backyard, and they deserve a fair shot at affordable tickets.No one should be manipulated into paying sky-high prices for seats, and fans should be able to trust that the tickets they purchase will be the ones they receive. I thank Attorney General Davenport for joining this effort to get answers from FIFA and protect our states’ consumers.”

Several fans who purchased Category One tickets for World Cup matches have been left in disbelief at the location of their seats inside the stadium.

This comes after FIFA has released a batch of new tickets at a high price, which are apparently in the seats that those original Category One tickets were meant to occupy.

Effectively, FIFA has moved those original Category One tickets to other sections within stadiums in order to charge exorbitant prices for a new batch of elite-category tickets, further fuelling the narrative that they are putting money and revenue above all else at the 2026 World Cup.

Over the last few months, fans have been purchasing tickets across four categories, with Category One tickets costing hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

Those who purchased tickets waited in expectation to see where their ticket would be assigned and a lot have been left disappointed.

“A lot of people feel misled, or confused, or maybe just generally let down about the way seats were assigned,” Jordan Likover, an angered fan, told The Athletic.

“You can’t change the rules of the game after someone’s played,” he said. “Like, people paid expecting to be seated in one place. And then when they were assigned [seats], it’s changed.”

He purchased Category One tickets at a high price and his assigned seats for two matches at the AT&T Stadium are in a Category Two area.

After being quizzed on the subject by The Athletic via email, FIFA said “indicative category maps” were “to help fans understand where their seats could be located within a stadium. These maps were designed to provide guidance rather than the exact seat layout, and reflect the general extent of each ticket category within the stadium.”

A week after those initial tickets were assigned, FIFA released the new batch of tickets which were, in some cases, double the price of those original Category One tickets.

“This is just another example of how deceptive the original maps were,” another fan Ben Kurzman, wrote to the Athletic. “[FIFA] let people believe that by buying Category 1 seats, they might end up in a lower sideline section close to the field, when that was never going to happen.”

This new Category has seemingly come out of nowhere as has been called 'Front Category 1' by FIFA. This was not advertised previously.

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FT Desk

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