Sports

New York and New Jersey Are Investigating FIFA for What It Did to World Cup Ticket Prices

By Curtis Jones · May 29, 2026

The 2026 FIFA World Cup opens in eleven days. The final is at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19. A ticket to that final currently costs $32,970 on resale platforms. And on Wednesday, the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey subpoenaed FIFA to explain what happened to the prices.

New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced jointly that they had sent subpoenas to FIFA seeking internal information about its ticketing practices for the matches at MetLife Stadium — including the World Cup Final — and for any conduct that may have contributed to soaring prices and consumer confusion about seat locations.

“New Yorkers have been waiting years for the World Cup to come to their backyard, and they deserve a fair shot at affordable tickets.”

“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.”

The Athletic reported in April that FIFA raised ticket prices for more than 90 of the 104 World Cup matches between October 2025 and April 2026, with prices for the three main ticket categories rising on average by 34%. The 2026 World Cup is the first tournament in which FIFA has used dynamic pricing — adjusting ticket costs based on demand in real time, the same model used by airlines and concert promoters.

The second, more specific allegation in the attorneys general’s announcement is that FIFA changed the stadium zone maps after fans had already purchased tickets. Under that allegation, a fan who bought a ticket believing it corresponded to one section of MetLife Stadium later discovered the zone boundaries had been redrawn, placing their seat in a different — and in many cases worse — location than what they believed they had purchased. That conduct, if confirmed, would constitute a misrepresentation to consumers at the point of sale.

MetLife Stadium will host eight World Cup matches in total, including the July 19 final. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani separately announced a lottery for 1,000 tickets priced at $50 for city residents — tickets drawn from the host committee’s allocation rather than FIFA’s general inventory — as an alternative access point for fans who cannot afford the open market.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta also requested information from FIFA in May, citing concerns about whether California consumer protection laws may have been violated. The investigations are civil, not criminal. FIFA has not responded publicly to the subpoenas.

The World Cup begins June 11. The investigation may not resolve before the first match is played.