World Cup New York – FIFA cancels free World Cup tickets awarded by mistake

FIFA has canceled World Cup tickets that were issued to around 60 fans who mistakenly received them for free due to an error on the official website. The governing body of world football confirmed the cancellation this Thursday, explaining that the tickets were “allocated free of charge due to a previous payment problem during the checkout process”.

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«FIFA regrets the error and any inconvenience caused», says the organization’s statement, which assured, however, that «the tickets requested by these fans remain reserved, and the affected fans were invited to complete the payment of the correct amount».

This incident is the latest failure in a controversial ticketing program for the World Cup, which is already under investigation by the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey for possible violations of consumer protection laws.

According to an email sent by FIFA to buyers, tickets were sold at the wrong price on May 21st. Interestingly, this date follows FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s announcement that all 104 World Cup games were sold out.

Even so, FIFA continues to sell tickets for the 2026 World Cup games, which start next week in Mexico City, with uncertainty remaining about a possible price drop in matches with lower demand due to the dynamic pricing model. To combat parallel resale, the organization operates its own resale platform, charging buyers and sellers a 15% commission, although other platforms continue to make many tickets available.

Tickets for the 2026 World Cup are the most expensive ever. FIFA justifies the high prices with the need to generate revenue to finance the development of world football. This edition also signals a change in box office management, with FIFA taking full control of sales and prices, despite the fact that, in the 2018 winning bid, hundreds of thousands of group stage tickets were promised for $21.

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