FIFA seat not the one you paid for? NJ and NY probing ticket sales

FIFA’s ticketing practices are under investigation by New Jersey’s and New York’s attorneys general, who said Wednesday that the World Cup organizer may have misled buyers about seat locations and availability while prices shot up.

Eight soccer matches will be played from June 13-July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, temporarily known as New York New Jersey Stadium. More than 1.2 million visitors are expected to travel to the region for the games.

Fans, though, have reported that they purchased tickets for particular stadium zones, only to find they were assigned seats elsewhere, according to a joint statement from New Jersey Attorney Jennifer Davenport and her New York counterpart, Letitia James. In some cases, seats were in areas far from the field or behind the goals.

Tickets for the final, purchased directly through FIFA’s affiliate ticket seller, start at $16,475, according to a price list posted on Wednesday. The least expensive seat, for a June 22 match, was $1,650.

Davenport encouraged New Jerseyans who did not receive the tickets they paid for to file a complaint with the Division of Consumer Affairs.

Investigators also are focusing on variable pricing over several months, and how “prices for some matches skyrocketed,” according to the news release. From October 2025-April 2026, prices rose for at least 90 matches, with three main ticket categories increasing an average 34%, according to reporting by The New York Times that was cited in release.

The Zurich-based Fédération Internationale de Football Association, soccer’s international governing body, was sent subpoenas “seeking information about its ticketing practices,” specifically the New Jersey games, according to that statement.

FIFA declined to comment. The July 19 final – the single biggest sporting event in the world — is expected to draw 6 billion viewers globally, by FIFA’s estimate.

“Being honest about ticket sales is not complicated,” 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.”