World Cup 2026: FIFA subpoenaed by New York, New Jersey Attorneys General over 'sky-high prices'

FIFA set ticket prices so high for the 2026 World Cup that the government felt compelled to get involved. New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey AG Jennifer Davenport announced Wednesday that they’ve subpoenaed the organization as part of an investigation into “sky-high” ticket costs.

Davenport and James announced the subpoena and an investigation in a release Wednesday. In it, the attorneys general said they are looking into FIFA’s ticketing practices after fans experienced “a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity, and impossibly high prices.”

“New Yorkers have been waiting years for the World Cup to come to their backyard, and they deserve a fair shot at affordable tickets,” James said. “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. I thank Attorney General Davenport for joining this effort to get answers from FIFA and protect our states’ consumers.”

“Being honest about ticket sales is not complicated. But FIFA has turned buying a ticket to the World Cup into a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity, and impossibly high prices – all at the expense of consumers and hardworking New Jerseyans,” Davenport said. “We are committed to conducting a thorough investigation of FIFA’s conduct, and we are proud to stand together with Attorney General James in protecting our consumers. It’s an honor to host the World Cup, but the event is not an invitation to exploit our residents and visitors.”

The investigation will look into whether FIFA violated the “City’s Consumer Protection Law,” per the release. The organization may have violated that law by “misleading fans about seat locations and artificially inflating prices.”

FIFA has faced scrutiny over its ticketing situation in recent months. The organization used a dynamic pricing model which increased costs by an average of 34 percent between October and April.

Additionally, fans faced lengthy wait times in order to buy tickets, only to later reportedly have their seats changed for seemingly unexplained reasons. Turns out, FIFA added new ticketing zones after some fans purchased tickets, leading those fans to have worse seats than they initially expected.

As a response to all those issues, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani was able to secure 1,000 $50 tickets to the event for New Yorkers. Mamdani said he didn’t “want sports to become a luxury commodity.”

As part of the investigation, Davenport and James are hoping to “examine whether and how FIFA’s ticket release schedule, public statements, and other conduct may have impacted these prices.”

It’s unclear what potential punishments FIFA could face if the investigation determines it misled fans.

Due to the extreme ticket prices, there’s some concern matches could be more sparsely attended than expected.