FIFA to allow 2026 World Cup ticket resale, charging 15% fees

FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the organization will allow ticket resale for the 2026 World Cup, acknowledging many applicants plan to sell for profit.sportsbusinessjournal
FIFA received a record 500 million ticket requests during the month-long application window and will charge a 15% commission to both buyers and sellers on its resale platform—a departure from past tournaments that capped resale prices at face value.nytimes
The Football Supporters’ Association has criticized ticket pricing as “outrageous,” with group-stage seats up to three times more expensive than in 2022 and the cheapest final ticket in New Jersey priced at £3,119.bbc

FIFA Allows 2026 World Cup Ticket Resale with 15% Commission

FIFA President Gianni Infantino acknowledged Thursday that many of the record 500 million ticket requests for the 2026 World Cup came from people planning to resell them for profit—and confirmed the organization will permit the practice while collecting fees on each transaction.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland, Infantino said resale is “perfectly legal” in the United States and that FIFA must allow it. The organization will charge a 15 percent commission to both sellers and buyers on its official resale platform, earning $30 on a $100 ticket sale.sportsbusinessjournal

Record Demand Faces Scalping Concerns

The announcement comes after FIFA received an unprecedented half-billion ticket requests during the month-long Random Selection Draw application window, which ran from December 11, 2025, to January 13, 2026. Each application represented one to four seats at a designated match, and FIFA validated each request using unique credit card data.thechampionnewspaper

“You can be sure that these tickets, for which we’ll have to make a draw because every game will be sold out, will probably be resold at even higher prices,” Infantino said at Davos. “This is incredible but it shows really the impact that it has”.sportsbusinessjournal

FIFA denied suggestions that automated bots were responsible for a significant portion of the requests, though the organization has not disclosed how demand is distributed across the tournament’s 104 matches.nytimes

A Departure from Past Tournaments

The 15 percent dual fee structure marks a notable shift from previous World Cups, where FIFA capped resale prices at face value and charged smaller fees of 10 percent or less, according to The Athletic. For the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, FIFA opted against price caps, adapting to the relatively unregulated secondary market in North America.sportsbusinessjournal

FIFA’s resale platform launched in October 2025 and “almost immediately had some tickets listed for tens of thousands of dollars,” with prices sometimes exceeding ten times the primary market cost. In Mexico, where resale laws are stricter, FIFA agreed to limit prices to face value on a separate “ticket exchange” platform.nytimes

Industry experts have noted that the 15 percent fees are comparable to those charged by U.S.-based resale companies such as StubHub and SeatGeek.sportsbusinessjournal

Visa Uncertainties Remain

While Infantino touted the FIFA PASS program, which provides ticket holders with priority access to visa interview appointments, uncertainties remain about whether fans from all participating nations will be permitted to attend. The U.S. government’s immigration policies have raised concerns, with countries including Haiti, Iran, Ivory Coast, and Senegal facing restrictions. The FIFA PASS only expedites appointment scheduling and does not change visa eligibility or guarantee approval.nnuimmigration

Fans will begin receiving notification emails about their ticket applications no earlier than February 5.sportsbusinessjournal