FIFA World Cup Ticketing Investigation to Continue

While the FIFA World Cup officially concludes on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport will not be halting her investigation into FIFA and the international football governing body's ticketing practices.

Davenport told The Athletic that she will continue to examine the concerns she and her New York counterpart, Letitia James, raised in May regarding how FIFA conducted the ticket purchasing process for the eight matches hosted at MetLife Stadium. These eight matches include Sunday's 2026 World Cup final, which will see Argentina face off against Spain.

In a joint press release in May, the attorneys general stated they were investigating reports that FIFA had inflated prices, changed seating arrangements after tickets were sold, and created an artificial scarcity.

Regarding her ongoing mission to protect consumers, Davenport added: "For the initial sales, FIFA had divided the stadium into four categories. Category 1 seats were the most desirable, but after fans had already purchased tickets, FIFA created new zones. We saw reports indicating that fans who had bought tickets before these new zones were introduced were then assigned less desirable seats. We also saw reports that some fans did not receive tickets in the category they paid for."

New Jersey and New York are not the only places where FIFA's ticketing practices have come under fire. Officials in California and Texas are also investigating allegations related to the World Cup.

In the German city of Frankfurt on Tuesday, a court called FIFA's practices regarding the resale site Ticombo "manipulative" and issued an injunction intended to force FIFA to stop selling tickets there.