FIFA accused of reselling 2026 World Cup tickets on unauthorised sites at lower prices | OneFootball

FIFA faces fresh ticketing controversy days before the 2026 World Cup, with allegations it resold seats via unauthorised platforms at lower prices. The tournament runs from 11 June to 19 July.

The Telegraph reports that batches of tickets, including whole rows, have recently appeared on non-official resale sites at prices well below those on FIFA’s own platform.

Professor Florian Ederer of Boston University’s Questrom School of Business cited Cape Verde v Saudi Arabia on 27 June, saying entire sections were relisted on SeatGeek, which is not an official FIFA marketplace. He argued the pattern does not match typical fan or broker resales, which are usually in pairs or scattered across a stadium.

For that match, some seats were available for 200 dollars, around 172 euros, while the same areas cost 700 dollars, about 603 euros, on FIFA’s official site. Ederer said this points to the organiser offloading bulk inventory more cheaply to widen reach and improve attendances.

He suggested FIFA might use secondary sites rather than cut official prices to avoid refund demands, payment disputes and consumer protection headaches from buyers who paid more. SeatGeek has denied having any distribution agreement with FIFA, and the governing body has not commented.

FIFA is already under investigation over alleged misleading commercial practices relating to World Cup ticketing.

Source: L'Équipe