FIFA has acknowledged a technical error on its official website that allowed approximately 60 fans to obtain World Cup tickets at no cost, but the governing body has cancelled those tickets and is demanding the affected supporters re-purchase them at full price.

The world football authority confirmed that on Wednesday, 3 June, it sent communications to the 60 affected fans, informing them their tickets had been allocated free of charge due to a payment processing fault during checkout. FIFA said it "regrets any inconvenience caused."

According to a letter shared by Ticket Talk Network, a social media account that tracks ticketing irregularities, the fans have seven days to pay for their tickets in full or have them removed from their accounts. The affected tickets are understood to be for group stage matches in Toronto.

Another blow to FIFA's ticketing reputation

The checkout glitch is the latest in a series of ticketing controversies surrounding the 2026 World Cup, which kicks off on Thursday, 11 June, and is co-hosted by Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

Despite FIFA's earlier promises that the tournament would be a sell-out, available seats remain on sale less than a week before the opening match — a detail that has not gone unnoticed by critics.

Last week, the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey announced a formal investigation into FIFA's ticketing practices. The probe follows allegations that FIFA has been "artificially inflating prices" and "misleading fans" through its sales processes.

Central to those concerns is FIFA's so-called variable pricing model, under which ticket prices fluctuate across sales phases in response to demand and availability. FIFA's final open sales window opened in April, with the organisation stating at the time that additional tickets could be released right up to kick-off.