FIFA accused of “artificial scarcity” as 2026 World Cup tickets remain unsold weeks before tournament

Thousands of tickets for the 2026 World Cup are still unsold with only weeks remaining before kickoff, despite FIFA repeatedly insisting demand for the tournament has been “unprecedented”.

Now, ticketing experts are accusing football’s governing body of deliberately creating “artificial scarcity” by drip-feeding inventory onto the market while keeping prices extremely high.

Why so many 2026 World Cup tickets remain unsold ahead of kickoff

FIFA is facing growing criticism over its ticketing strategy for the 2026 World Cup after thousands of seats remained available across multiple matches less than a month before the tournament begins.

Although FIFA claims it received more than 500 million ticket requests earlier this year, experts say the real issue is not demand, but pricing.

The governing body has continued releasing tickets gradually through rolling sales windows rather than making all remaining seats available at once. Fans entering FIFA’s official queue system have often faced hours-long waits before encountering expensive prices, glitches or error messages.

According to ticketing expert Jim McCarthy, the tournament would likely sell out quickly if prices were reduced. Speaking to Front Office Sports, he said: “It would not be hard to sell this tournament, sell every single ticket of this tournament, but the prices are aggressive.”

Kieran Maguire, co-host of The Price of Football podcast, also accused FIFA of creating “artificial scarcity” in an effort to maximise revenue.

Despite some prices beginning to fall slightly, many remain eye-wateringly high. FIFA was still listing Category 1 tickets for the World Cup final at more than $10,000 (£7,392) this week, while some England, Netherlands and Spain group-stage matches had cheapest available tickets exceeding $1,000 (£739).

There are signs that prices are softening in some areas. Tickets for the USA’s opening match against Paraguay dropped by several hundred dollars over recent days, while cheaper tickets have quietly appeared for lower-profile fixtures. But FIFA’s primary platform still has large numbers of unsold seats available across multiple games.

The situation has drawn comparisons with the concert industry, where promoters have increasingly overestimated what consumers are willing to pay for premium live events.

FGG says: Why FIFA may soon have no choice but to slash World Cup ticket prices

At this point, it is becoming increasingly unsurprising that thousands of World Cup tickets remain unsold at these prices.

Fans are already dealing with enormous travel, hotel and transport costs for the trip to North America, and there is clearly a limit to what many ordinary supporters can realistically afford.

Demand for the tournament is clearly there, just not at the prices FIFA are setting.

The experts are probably right – if FIFA seriously wants to fill these stadiums, more meaningful price drops will almost certainly be needed sooner rather than later.