FIFA has cancelled World Cup tickets issued to about 60 fans who mistakenly received them for free due to a website error. The tickets were “allocated at no charge (0 USD) due to a prior payment issue during the checkout process,” FIFA said in a statement on Thursday.

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

This is the latest glitch in an often controversial World Cup ticketing programme that the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey are investigating for possible violations of consumer protection laws.

The mispriced tickets were sold through the official World Cup site on May 21, FIFA said in an email to buyers. That date was more than three months after FIFA president Gianni Infantino claimed all 104 World Cup games had sold out.

FIFA is also operating its own resale platform — taking 15 percent commission from both buyers and sellers — to cut out ticket dealers. However, platforms like SeatGeek offered widespread availability on Friday for many games.

Tickets for the 2026 World Cup are significantly more expensive than any previous edition, which FIFA justifies as helping earn billions of dollars for global game development.

Source: www.aljazeera.com