New York and New Jersey prosecutors have issued a subpoena to FIFA as part of an investigation into ticket pricing and seat-location accuracy for the 2026 World Cup. The probe, announced jointly by New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, targets what the officials called “sky-high prices for seats” and concerns that purchasers are not getting the tickets and seat locations promised to them.
The 2026 tournament, hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico, will be the most expensive World Cup by a large margin and has already drawn widespread criticism over both political and economic issues. Prosecutors say prices for matches this year “far exceeded the prices for any previous World Cup competition,” and argue that New Yorkers and New Jerseyans deserve a fair chance at reasonably priced tickets.
“No one should be manipulated into paying sky-high prices for seats, and fans should be able to trust that the tickets they purchase will be the ones they receive,” James said. Davenport added that “being honest about ticket sales is not complicated,” but accused FIFA of turning ticket buying into a “gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity, and impossibly high prices.” The World Cup final is scheduled for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Fears about extreme resale prices have been widely reported. In one cited example, private resellers were asking more than $2 million for a pair of final tickets on secondary marketplaces. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defended the organization’s use of “dynamic pricing,” saying it reflects high standard prices for US sporting events and large global demand; he also cited US laws that prevent banning resale after purchase.
Despite those defenses, most tickets other than a relatively small number of low-cost seats—mainly available during low-stakes group-stage matches—are significantly more expensive than typical US sports tickets. Entry to the final is expected to cost ordinary fans several thousand dollars, reportedly as much as five times the cost of attending the 2022 final in Qatar. By comparison, tickets when the US last hosted the tournament in 1994 were roughly 20 times cheaper.
Beyond face-price concerns, supporters and consumer groups have raised related complaints. Fan organizations have filed formal complaints about pricing with European regulators, and coverage has highlighted additional burdens such as costly train fares and parking fees to reach stadiums. FIFA has made limited gestures—such as releasing a small number of lower-price tickets—but those moves have done little to ease criticism.
The subpoenas from New York and New Jersey add to a growing list of scrutiny for FIFA over how tickets are priced, sold and resold for a tournament that promises historic crowds — and, according to officials, historic costs.