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In the most recent controversy surrounding FIFA ahead of the 2026 World Cup, New York attorney general Letitia James and New Jersey attorney general Jennifer Davenport have initiated a joint probe into the global soccer governing body, focusing specifically on its ticket pricing practices for this summer's tournament.
FIFA has faced relentless criticism since it first rolled out World Cup tickets last autumn, owing to its new "dynamic pricing" model that has resulted in astronomical costs, at times pushing prices to four times what fans paid for seats at previous World Cups.
"My office, [the office of the New Jersey attorney general] and [the NYC department of consumer and worker protection] are investigating FIFA after reports of soaring World Cup ticket prices and fans not getting seats as advertised," James posted to X on Wednesday morning.
"New Yorkers have been waiting years for the World Cup to come here. They deserve a fair opportunity to access affordable tickets."
The offices of James and Davenport have already issued subpoenas to FIFA, seeking information specifically about ticketing for MetLife Stadium's matches, of which there are eight, including the World Cup final scheduled for July 19.
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Misleading Stadium Seat Maps
FIFA drew significant backlash in early April after reportedly altering the publicly displayed seating zone maps after fans had already bought tickets expecting placement within a specific area of a stadium.
Last fall, rather than selling individual seats within stadiums, FIFA offered tickets by stadium zone. Four color-coded categories were mapped out for each venue, corresponding to the quality of seating available for purchase. Category 1 represents the stadium's premium seating, positioned closest to the pitch with the best sightlines, primarily in the lower bowl, while Category 4 covers the uppermost sections.
However, when FIFA converted those categorized purchases into actual seat assignments, many fans received seats that fell outside the original boundaries of the zone they had paid for, ending up with "less desirable seats, including seats far from the field or behind the goals," according to the attorney generals' release. Some Category 1 buyers were assigned seats in areas originally color-coded as Category 2, farther from the pitch than anticipated, yet those seats had since been relabeled as Category 1.
The attorney generals intend to examine whether ticket holders were "misled about the locations of the seat they were purchasing" and whether FIFA's actions "contributed to soaring prices."
"Being honest about ticket sales is not complicated," attorney general Davenport said. "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.
"We are committed to conducting a thorough investigation of FIFA's conduct, and we are proud to stand together with Attorney General James in protecting our consumers. It's an honor to host the World Cup, but the event is not an invitation to exploit our residents and visitors."
Attorney general James added: "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. I thank Attorney General Davenport for joining this effort to get answers from FIFA and protect our states' consumers."
FIFA's Continued Response
FIFA has consistently defended its steep ticket pricing by pointing to conditions within the U.S. market.
"We have to look at the market," FIFA president Gianni Infantino said last month. "We are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates.
"In the U.S., it is permitted to resell tickets as well. So if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price. And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double our price."
Regarding the altered seat maps, FIFA's "Ticket Terms of Use" do state that "any visual representations of Ticket Categories on the Ticketing Website, such as Stadium maps and illustrations, are for guidance purposes only and may not reflect the actual layout and boundaries of a particular Stadium," a clause that could have implications for the attorney generals' investigation.