As concerns grow about pricey World Cup tickets, two American attorneys general have announced they plan to probe “a range of issues that have arisen with FIFA’s ticketing process.”
This includes dynamic pricing that’s driven the cost of the most in-demand tickets to five figures.
On Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport released a joint announcement that they’re subpoenaing documents from FIFA regarding its pricing practices for matches at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
James and Davenport state 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.”
“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,” Davenport said.
Shushan Lily Vardanyan, a soccer fan based in Vancouver, has been on the hunt for World Cup tickets, but has yet to secure them.
“The tickets that we find are like $800 to $1,000 per person and we are a family of three,” she said.
Because of the inaccessibility of tickets, Vardanyan is concerned about falling victim to a potential scam from individual vendors.
“For low- to average-income families, it’s not reasonable, and we know that soccer, one of the characteristics is its inclusiveness, its accessibility, its affordability,” she said. “At least one game to go and feel the excitement and be included would have been nice.
“The vibe is in the city, but we still feel excluded.”
Vardanyan is supportive of the American investigation and hopes that Canada eventually follows suit.
“I think there should be some investigation and there should be transparency and it should speak to the value of the country that is hosting the games.”
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When tickets went on general sale in January, they ranged from US$140 to $8,680, The Associated Press reported. Since then, some have been made available for less and others for significantly more — rising to a face price of $32,970 for the final.
FIFA can make more money on its resale marketplace, where it takes a 30 per cent commission from each sale. In April, the platform listed four tickets to the final for just under $2.3 million each.
Fans have accused FIFA of a “monumental betrayal” over its pricing strategy, but demand appears to be high and the not-for-profit organization says the money it makes goes back into the sport.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has defended the ticket prices.
“We have to look at the market. We are in a market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world, so we have to apply market rates,” he said earlier in May.
“In the U.S., it is permitted to resell tickets, as well, so if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price. And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double of our price.
“You cannot go to watch in the U.S. a college game, not even speaking about a top professional game of a certain level, for less than $300.”
While Canada has not announced plans for a similar probe, a spokesperson for Competition Bureau Canada said in an emailed statement to Global News that the department is “aware of the recent announcement in the United States regarding FIFA’s ticketing practices” ahead of the tournament.
“We closely monitor the work of our international counterparts, while recognizing that each jurisdiction operates under its own legal framework,” the Competition Bureau said, noting that its normal practice is not to confirm whether any investigations are underway until any of its potential work is completed.
The bureau released a statement on May 21 outlining several risks people could face when buying tickets to events like high-demand soccer matches during the World Cup, including potential scams.
“As summer arrives and brings a season packed with concerts, festivals, and sports events like the FIFA World Cup 2026, the Competition Bureau warns consumers to stay vigilant when buying event tickets,” the statement said.
“As consumers are eager to secure seats for popular happenings, the excitement also creates opportunities for dishonest practices in the ticketing industry.”
As a result, the bureau is advising caution to consumers for “potential scams before buying tickets this summer.”
Resale tickets for Toronto’s six World Cup matches appear to have been temporarily removed from FIFA’s resale platform after new rules came into effect in Ontario.
The Ford government passed its rules on ticket resale into law, capping prices at face value for all tickets sold in the province, including the upcoming men’s World Cup tournament.
The resale rules will cap resale prices for the soccer tournament at their original face value, meaning anybody who bought a resale ticket above face value before the law now stands to lose money if they sell it again.
For example, if someone had originally bought their World Cup ticket for $600 and then resold it for $1,200 to someone else, that person would have to resell it for $600.
FIFA is operating its own resale platform for the World Cup, where it has implemented no price rules and collects a 15 per cent surcharge from both the buyer and the seller.
In the meantime, Vardanyan and her family are clinging onto hope that they will be able to buy tickets for a Canadian World Cup match at an affordable price.
“I don’t give up. I still hope we will find one game to watch.”
— with a file from Global’s Touria Izri and The Associated Press.
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