NJ, NY Investigating FIFA World Cup Ticket Practices

By Nikita Biryukov and Dana DiFilippo, New Jersey Monitor

June 1, 2026

New York and New Jersey authorities are probing ticket prices for FIFA’s 2026 World Cup after reports that some customers received worse seats than they paid for, attorneys general from the two states announced Wednesday.

The states sent FIFA subpoenas seeking information about its ticket practices, including for the eight matches set to be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford in June and July, the attorneys general said.

“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,” New Jersey Attorney General Jen Davenport said in a statement.

FIFA initially divided stadium tickets into four categories of varying seat quality, but later the organization introduced four more categories that included the best seats in the existing groups.

The new tickets were priced significantly higher, Davenport and James said, adding that attendees who had purchased tickets before the new categories were introduced were excluded and assigned seats further from the field or with less desirable viewing angles.

Other fans reported not receiving tickets in categories they paid for, authorities said. Despite paying for tickets in the category closest to the field, they were placed further back, they said.

“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,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

Spokespeople for FIFA declined to comment.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who has warred with FIFA over expenses NJ Transit will face transporting soccer fans to MetLife Stadium, applauded the investigation.

“New Jersey is excited to host the World Cup and welcome fans from across the globe, but no one should be allowed to exploit New Jersey fans or those coming to our state,” she said.

Davenport and James said ticket prices for this summer’s matches ran higher than any previous World Cup, and they will weigh how the organization’s public statements and release schedule may have affected those prices.

On average, ticket prices rose by 34% between October 2025 and April 2026. In some cases, ticket prices for individual matches more than doubled over that period.

Ticket prices for matches hosted in East Rutherford generally rose slower, but the prices for the top category of tickets to the World Cup final jumped by 73% over that period, rising 73% from $6,370 to $10,990.

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