Website glitch gives fans ‘free’ WC tickets, FIFA cancels booking and demands full payment

FIFA has cancelled around 60 World Cup 2026 tickets booked for $0 due to a ticketing website glitch. The football governing body apologized for the error and gave affected fans seven days to pay the correct price

New Delhi: In a bizarre turn of events, football fans managed to book FIFA World Cup 2026 tickets at “no cost” due to a website glitch. FIFA has since expressed regret for the error, cancelled the bookings, and demanded full payment from the affected supporters to secure their seats.

The world governing body for football confirmed that approximately 60 supporters had “purchased” tickets for 0 USD due to a checkout error.

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“FIFA can confirm that approximately 60 FIFA World Cup 2026 fans received a communication on Wednesday, June 3, regarding tickets that had been allocated at no charge (0 USD) due to a prior payment issue during the checkout process,” FIFA said in a statement.

“The tickets requested by these fans remain reserved, and the affected fans have been invited to complete payment of the correct amount. FIFA regrets the error and any inconvenience caused.”

According to a purported email from FIFA posted online by Ticket Talk Network, the transactions affected by the “pricing inaccuracy” have been nullified.

“We identified and resolved an issue with ticket pricing that affected a small number of tickets sold on FIFA.com/tickets on May 21, 2026. This issue caused certain tickets to be displayed with inaccurate prices at checkout and in the completed transaction records,” the email read.

“You have been identified as a customer who purchased a ticket affected by this pricing inaccuracy. In accordance with the Terms of Sale for the General Public, all ticket orders that included tickets with inaccurate prices have been cancelled. You will receive a full refund for all payments made in connection with these ticket orders.”

However, FIFA is giving the affected fans a second chance. The cancelled tickets have been placed on a temporary hold, allowing fans to reclaim them by paying the correct price within a week.

“To ensure you do not miss the opportunity to attend the FIFA World Cup 2026, we have reserved the same ticket(s) for you to purchase at the correct price. This ticket(s) will be available for purchase through your FIFA ticketing account for 7 days from the date of this message. If the purchase is not completed within this period, the reserved ticket(s) will be removed from your account,” the email added.

This incident follows widespread public outcry over skyrocketing ticket prices for the tournament. In April, FIFA’s official resale platform listed four lower-deck tickets for the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for just under USD 2.3 million each.