The Football Supporters Europe (FSE), in collaboration with the "Euro Consumers" organization, announced an unprecedented legal escalation against the International Football Association (FIFA), by filing an official complaint with the European Commission for "abuse of monopolistic position" and imposing unfair sale conditions for the tickets of the 2026 World Cup scheduled in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The association revealed, based on the pricing tables gradually published by "FIFA", a huge gap in costs compared to previous editions:
• Final tickets: The cheapest final match tickets start from $4,185, which exceeds 7 times the price of the final in the previous edition.
• Lost promises: The association denounced the disappearance of the tickets which the hosting dossier in 2018 had promised, starting from $21.
Sales Violations
The complainant bodies recorded six specific violations in FIFA's policy, most notably:
• Dynamic pricing: Using algorithms that raise prices "out of control" and hiding cheaper categories from team fans to allocate them for general sale.
• Misleading advertising: Promoting $60 tickets for group stage matches, which turned out to be "practically sold out" before the sales to the public were opened.
• Pressure tactics: Imposing a 15% fee on resale operations, with complete ambiguity in seating locations and stadium layouts at the time of purchase.
FIFA’s Position and Demand Levels
In contrast, FIFA defends its sales policy by pointing to "unprecedented demand":
• Demand figures: FIFA received 508 million requests for approximately 7 million tickets available for 104 matches.
• Revenue goals: FIFA confirms that these funds are reinvested to promote the growth of football in 211 member associations.
Current Legal Demands
The fans' association urges the European Commission to immediately intervene to:
• Freeze prices at the levels of last December.
• Eliminate the "dynamic pricing" system to ensure transparency.
• Announce the remaining tickets in each category at least 48 hours before each sales phase.
