Less than two weeks before the 2026 World Cup kicks off, FIFA is facing a formal investigation by the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey over its ticket sales practices. The probe, announced on Wednesday, centers on allegations that the football governing body misled fans about pricing and seat allocations, particularly for matches at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, which will host eight games including the final on 19 July.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport have issued subpoenas demanding internal documents on how ticket prices were set and how seating categories were marketed. The investigation follows complaints from buyers who say they paid for seats in specific sections but ended up in less desirable areas of the stadium.
“New Yorkers have been waiting years for the World Cup to come to their backyard and they deserve a fair shot at affordable tickets,” James said in a joint statement. Davenport added that FIFA had turned buying a ticket into “a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity and impossibly high prices.”
At the heart of the inquiry is FIFA’s introduction of a new “Front Category” premium tier after the initial sales phase had closed, effectively reshuffling the seating hierarchy for fans who had already committed their money. Investigators are also scrutinising the use of “variable pricing,” a demand-based model applied for the first time at a World Cup. According to an investigation by The Athletic, prices for more than 90 matches rose between October 2025 and April 2026, with increases of around 25% for games in Mexico and Canada.
FIFA has not publicly commented on the subpoenas. The tournament is expected to generate some $13 billion (€11.1 billion) for the organisation, which describes itself as a not-for-profit that reinvests revenues across its 211 member associations.
European consumer complaint adds pressure
The US investigation is not the only legal challenge FIFA faces. In March, consumer rights organisation Euroconsumers and Football Supporters Europe (FSE) filed a formal complaint with the European Commission, accusing FIFA of abusing its monopoly over ticket sales. They described the pricing as “extortionate” and a “monumental betrayal” of fans.
The Commission confirmed receipt of the complaint and said it would assess the case under standard procedures, though no further developments have been reported since. The European complaint highlights a gap between FIFA’s promises and reality: the organisation originally announced group-stage tickets from as little as $60, yet according to Euroconsumers, almost no fans managed to secure seats at that price.
FIFA also charges a 15% fee to both buyers and sellers through its own resale marketplace, a practice Euroconsumers says is highly profitable for the governing body and detrimental to consumer rights. “Let's put a stop to this dynamic pricing and announce with full transparency what the prices will be,” said Els Bruggeman, head of policy and enforcement at Euroconsumers.
The dual investigations—on both sides of the Atlantic—underscore growing regulatory scrutiny of FIFA’s commercial practices as the World Cup approaches. For European fans, many of whom have travelled or plan to travel to North America for the tournament, the issue is particularly acute. The European complaint, filed with the Commission in Brussels, could lead to broader action if the EU finds that FIFA’s practices violate competition law.
FIFA has defended its pricing model by pointing to unprecedented global demand, citing more than 500 million ticket requests for the tournament. But critics argue that the organisation is exploiting fans who have waited years for the competition to arrive in North America. The outcome of the US probe and the European complaint could have lasting implications for how major sporting events sell tickets to the public.
