System failure released free tickets for 60 fans; entity gave 7 days for tickets to be paid
The (International Football Federation) notified around 60 fans who purchased tickets for the 2026 World Cup for free because of a failure in the entity’s sales system. Tickets had been issued for $0.
In a statement published on X and confirmed to British broadcasters Sky News e BBCthe entity informed that the error was due to a problem prior to payment and that occurred at the purchase completion stage.
Buyers were notified about the failure on Wednesday (June 3, 2026). Entrances to the stadiums remain reserved, but the federation requires payment for the ticket in order for the final ticket to be issued. FIFA regretted the error and the inconvenience caused to users.
According to BBCthe federation set a deadline of 7 days for affected fans to complete the transaction with the correct amounts. If payment is not made within this limit, tickets will be canceled and put on sale again.
DYNAMIC PRICING UNDER INVESTIGATIONS
The failure on the portal is yet another setback in the ticket sales process for the 2026 World Cup, which will feature 48 teams and will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
FIFA has been the target of criticism for the unprecedented implementation of a “dynamic pricing”where ticket prices vary based on demand.
The practice resulted in an explosion in prices: for the match between Spain and Uruguay, scheduled for June 26th in Group H, the cheapest ticket went from R$600 to R$1,575. For the final match, tickets cost around R$55,000.
The commercialization process became the target of investigations in the United States. Last week, attorneys general for the states of New York and New Jersey issued a subpoena to FIFA asking questions about ticket sales practices for the competition.
