The 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada has not yet started and is already surrounded by its share of controversies. The latest: FIFA is accused of reselling tickets, at prices well below those it charges on its official website, to secondary market platforms according to The Telegraph.
To argue its point, the British newspaper relies on the research of Florian Ederer, professor of economics, public policy and law, at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business.
The professor explained his reasoning and conclusions on X using the example of the June 27 meeting between Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia. For this part, entire sections of the stadium suddenly became accessible on SeatGeek, a resale platform that is not in partnership with FIFA.
This way of proceeding does not resemble a resale of a few tickets carried out by an individual. For the researcher, there is no doubt, this is a stock of tickets sold in bulk by the organizer. For comparison, for the same place, there can be up to 400 francs difference.
Few matches concerned
Why would FIFA do this? First of all, this situation only concerns a few matches for which demand is low (Cape Verde – Saudi Arabia or even Uzbekistan – DR Congo).
Then, because a drop in prices on the official platform could create a conflict with spectators who have already acquired their place on it. “Official price cuts could trigger refund requests or consumer protection headaches from fans who have already purchased at much higher prices,” explains Florian Ederer.
SeatGeek, contacted by The Telegraphrefuted having an agreement with FIFA.
