FIFA has received a large number of negative reactions when it was accused of hanging like “scalpers” in an unprecedented manner of ticket resale in the 2026 World Cup. Fans were already dismayed with face-value prices for this summer’s tournament, but their anger was amplified when the resale fees were increasing dramatically in the secondary market system without any limitations of FIFA.
Promoting the unofficial ticketing rules in the United States and Canada—ceiling is 91 matches out of the 104 tournament games—FIFA has, in due form, opened a reselling platform on which it earns 30% of every resold transaction. Football Supporters Europe and the European consumer organisation Euroconsumers criticized the model in an open letter to the COO of FIFA, Heimo Schirgi, stating that it “maximises revenue under the guise of market realities” and leaves out the fans of the sport.
As opposed to the previous FIFA World Cups, where there were limitations on prices for resold tickets, now FIFA allows ticket sellers to decide on any price. If a ticket costs $1,000, the buyers are to pay $1,150, while the sellers will get only $850, and the remaining $300 will be taken by FIFA.
Even though FIFA has promised that it will stop its highly disputed dynamic pricing system when releasing the tickets of the next batches, the organization states that its policy of reselling is in line with “market practices” in North America. The critics claim that it puts profit first without considering the fans and that is the reason why there is a great deal of frustration before the 2026 tournament.
