New Delhi: In a bizarre twist of events, fans managed to secure FIFA World Cup 2026 tickets at “no cost” because of a website glitch, only for FIFA to later acknowledge the mistake and request full payment from them to ensure they do not miss the chance to attend the global showpiece.
The global governing body for football stated that roughly 60 fans obtained tickets priced at "0 USD" because of a checkout error. The tickets were subsequently cancelled, and FIFA instructed the supporters to pay the correct price in order to have their tickets reinstated.
FIFA confirms that on Wednesday, 3 June, around 60 FIFA World Cup 2026 fans were notified about tickets that had been assigned to them at no cost (0 USD) as a result of a previous payment issue that occurred during the checkout process.The tickets requested by these supporters are still being held for them, and those affected have been asked to finalize payment of the correct amount. FIFA expressed regret for the mistake and any inconvenience it caused, the organization said in a statement.
An alleged email from FIFA, shared online by Ticket Talk Network, states that the tickets impacted by the “pricing inaccuracy” have been cancelled, and that fans will receive a full refund for all payments made for these ticket orders. "We identified and resolved an issue with ticket pricing that affected a small number of tickets sold on FIFA.com/tickets on 21 May 2026. This issue caused certain tickets to be displayed with inaccurate prices at checkout and in the completed transaction records.
The email stated: "You have been identified as a customer who bought a ticket impacted by this pricing error. Under the General Public Terms of Sale, all ticket orders containing incorrectly priced tickets have been cancelled. You will receive a full refund for all amounts paid in relation to these ticket orders."
According to the e-mail, the cancelled tickets have been reserved, and the fans can reclaim them by purchasing at a correct price.
To ensure you do not miss the chance to attend the FIFA World Cup 2026, we have set aside the same ticket(s) for you to buy at the correct price. These ticket(s) will be available for purchase in your FIFA ticketing account for 7 days from the date of this message. If you do not complete the purchase within this timeframe, the reserved ticket(s) will be removed from your account, the email added.
This incident follows well-documented concerns over high ticket prices for the FIFA World Cup 2026. In April, FIFA's resale site has four tickets on sale for the World Cup final for just under USD 2.3 million each. The USD 2,299,998.85 seats for the July 19 match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, are located behind a goal in the lower deck in Block 124, Row 45, Seats 33-36.
