FIFA 'regrets' giving away free World Cup tickets and cancels them ahead of tournament
As many as 60 attendees of this summer's FIFA World Cup have had their free tickets revoked.
Now just six days away from kicking off - co-host nation Mexico take on South Africa in the first game - the iconic tournament will be contested by a whopping 48 teams instead of the usual 32.
France, Spain, England, Argentina and Portugal are the favourites to lift the trophy, which was won by Lionel Messi's country four years ago.
But as rafts of footy lovers from across the world get their passports ready, an unlucky few have had their bubbles burst by FIFA.
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That's because they were mistakenly given freebies by the organisation when they attempted to purchase tickets online last month.
Per The Mirror, an email sent out to them this week read: "Dear football fan, in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2026, we continuously monitor our ticketing systems to ensure accuracy and provide a seamless purchasing experience for all fans.
"As part of these efforts, we identified and resolved an issue with ticket pricing that affected a small number of tickets sold on FIFA.com/tickets on 21 May 2026. This issue caused certain tickets to be displayed with inaccurate prices at checkout and in the completed transaction records."
The slightly soul-destroying email continued: "You have been identified as a customer who purchased a ticket affected by this pricing inaccuracy. In accordance with the Terms of Sale for the General Public, all ticket orders that included tickets with inaccurate prices have been cancelled. You will receive a full refund for all payments made in connection with these ticket orders.
"To ensure you do not miss the opportunity to attend the FIFA World Cup 2026, we have reserved the same ticket(s) for you to purchase at the correct price.
"This ticket(s) will be available for purchase through your FIFA ticketing account for 7 days from the date of this message. If the purchase is not completed within this period, the reserved ticket(s) will be removed from your account."
A follow-up statement published by FIFA shared its 'regret' over messing these 'approximately 60' buyers around, while their full-priced tickets remain reserved for them.
This comes after US President Donald Trump declared that even he wouldn't pay the astronomical asking price for a World Cup ticket.
In other World Cup news, it was announced just this week that fans wouldn't be able to take refillable plastic bottles into any of the stadiums.
Considering the thermal intensity of the three host countries, that is nothing short of shambolic and quite clearly a money-grabbing tactic - according to fans, of course.
How much does it cost to attend the World Cup?
Football fans wanting to watch the games in person better have deep pockets. Here’s what flights, accommodation, tickets and food and drink will cost England supporters:
Getting there
If you fancied catching England’s opening game against Croatia next Wednesday (17 June), a return flight from London to Dallas, Texas would set you back around £700, according to Skyscanner.
The second and third games are a little cheaper to get to - £400 if you want to watch the Three Lions go up against Ghana in Boston on 23 June, and £500 to see them play Panama in New York on 27 June.
But now you need somewhere to stay.
Hotel costs
NBC has crunched the numbers on hotels, looking at the average for the five cheapest hotels within 15 miles of the station as of late last month.
In Atlanta for the opening match, the average hotel room is £350 for two nights, and that’s on the cheap side.
A hotel to watch the second game in the group stages in Boston will cost £725, and the third in New York will be £485.
Now to get your ticket for the game…
Ticket prices
Tickets for the opening game against Croatia are still available and going from £430, via Seatpick.
England vs Ghana will set you back at least £330, and the match against Panama £250.
I bet all that number crunching has made you thirsty…
Food and drink prices at the World Cup
Unlike in the UK, football fans are allowed to drink in the stands in the US, Canada and Mexico - if they’re made of money, that is.
Prices at a warm-up match between England and New Zealand at the Raymond James stadium in Tampa, Florida on Saturday (6 June) might give an indication of what to expect in the World Cup proper, which is bad news for fans.
A large beer was advertised at $18.75 (£13.99), while just a bottle of water was priced at $7.50 (£5.60).
Meanwhile, according to Football Ground Guide, a basic meal and a beer will set you back $23.88 (£17.83) at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, where England’s first game will take place.
For England’s second game at the Boston Stadium (also known as the Gillette Stadium), according to Football 2026 hot dogs are going from £6.30, while burgers will set you back £10.45.
Meanwhile, a basic meal and a beer at the MetLife stadium for England’s match against Panama will cost you £24.87.
Dan Seddon