US states probe Fifa over 'impossibly high' World Cup ticket prices

Lead

The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey have opened an investigation into FIFA's ticketing practices for the 2026 World Cup, issuing subpoenas that seek details on pricing structures and the accuracy of seat locations promised to fans. The probe, announced Wednesday in a joint statement by New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, alleges that prices for matches in the upcoming tournament "far exceeded the prices for any previous World Cup competition," according to multiple news outlets reporting the statement.

FIFA, which has not publicly commented on the investigation, has defended its first use of a dynamic pricing system that adjusts ticket costs based on demand. The tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, has already drawn criticism over costs that some fans say make attending matches prohibitively expensive.

Coverage comparison

Reporting on the investigation has been consistent across international outlets, with the BBC, Al Jazeera, France 24, Deutsche Welle, RFI, and ABC Australia all carrying the news of the subpoenas and the attorneys general's allegations. Most coverage focused on the investigation's dual scope: dynamic pricing and seat location accuracy. Some outlets, including Australia's ABC and Germany's Deutsche Welle, adopted a more critical tone, describing prices as "sky-high" and quoting a former FIFA official who accused the organization of "corporate greed." Others, such as Al Jazeera and France 24, presented the facts more neutrally, emphasizing the investigation rather than editorializing.

The BBC notably included FIFA President Gianni Infantino's defense of the pricing, which other outlets mentioned in passing. RFI used stronger language, such as "impossibly high prices" and "extortionate," drawing on statements from the Football Supporters Europe fan association.

Key claims

The investigation centers on several specific allegations, as described in the attorneys general's joint statement and reported across outlets:

• Misleading seat locations: Some fans who purchased tickets allege they were placed in different—often worse—seats than originally advertised. The attorneys general said FIFA had changed ticket "categories" after sales, altered seat maps, and created new zones for in-demand seats, moving some fans further from the field than they believed they had paid for.

• Dynamic pricing: FIFA used a demand-based pricing system for the first time, causing prices to fluctuate with real-time demand and inventory. Critics, including the Football Supporters Europe fan association, have called the resulting costs "extortionate," with some prices calculated to be several times higher than those at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

• Exorbitant costs: The attorneys general said prices for many matches "far exceeded" those of previous tournaments. Reports cited examples such as a ticket for a US-Paraguay match costing nearly $4,105, and the final—scheduled for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey—being priced at the equivalent of almost $16,000 in one instance. In an extreme case, private resellers asked for over $2 million for two tickets to the final, though that claim appeared in only a single source and had not been independently confirmed.

• Additional costs: Fans traveling to MetLife Stadium face other expenses: public transport from New York costs more than $100, and parking spaces are priced at $225, as reported by multiple outlets.

• FIFA's defense: Infantino defended the pricing, saying it "reflects the public's absolutely crazy appetite," as reported by the BBC. He also blamed US laws that make it difficult to ban ticket resale, and pointed to limited supply against worldwide demand. FIFA has also made gestures like releasing a limited number of lower-priced tickets, though critics say these efforts have had little impact.

Perspectives

The attorneys' general: In their joint statement, James and Davenport emphasized consumer protection. "No one should be manipulated into paying sky-high prices for seats, and fans should be able to trust that the tickets they purchase will be the ones they receive," James said. Davenport accused FIFA of creating "a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity, and impossibly high prices," adding that hosting the World Cup is an honor, not "an invitation to exploit our residents and visitors."

FIFA: The organization has not commented on the investigation. Infantino has previously defended the pricing model, pointing to the high standard of US sports events and the scale of global demand.

Former FIFA governance chief: Miguel Poiares Maduro, who chaired FIFA's governance committee in 2016 before leaving after less than a year, told Australia's ABC that the high ticket costs stem from a "systemic conflict of interest" within FIFA—it acts as both the regulator and the main commercial actor. "As a regulator, FIFA ought to be making sure that the entire ecosystem of football benefits from the revenues," he said. "As a commercial actor, however, the primary concern of FIFA is to maximise its income." He argued that the "commercial actor dimension is taking precedence."

US lawmakers and fan groups: Seventy US lawmakers wrote to FIFA last month, calling for lower ticket prices, according to RFI. The Football Supporters Europe association described the prices as "extortionate."

Context

The 2026 World Cup is widely described as the most expensive in history by a wide margin. Reports comparing it to the 2022 Qatar tournament note that entry to the final is several thousand dollars—up to five times higher than the cost of attending the Qatar final. The investigation adds to existing controversies, including concerns about immigration enforcement near stadiums and political tensions surrounding host countries.

FIFA has faced scrutiny before over its business practices, but this marks the first time US state authorities have intervened in its ticketing. The subpoenas seek detailed information about both the general pricing structure and the location-based pricing for the eight matches at MetLife Stadium, which will also host the final.

As the tournament approaches, fans remain caught between high demand and limited supply, with the investigation likely to fuel further debate over the cost of following football's biggest event.