FIFA creates new World Cup ticket category, deepening suspicions of deception

FIFA has created a new category of 2026 World Cup tickets two months before the tournament in an apparent attempt to milk more money out of prime seats.

Throughout the fall and winter, the global soccer governing body sold millions of World Cup tickets in four categories. Category 1, the most expensive tier, seemed to encompass all seats and sections in a stadium’s lower bowl, per color-coded maps embedded in the ticketing portal. Fans paid hundreds or thousands of dollars for these tickets, then awaited seat assignments.

Last week, FIFA delivered those assignments. It converted categorized tickets into specific rows and sections — and left many buyers disappointed with seats in corners, behind goals or farther away from the field.

Then, a week later, FIFA began selling seats in the first several rows of lower-level sections for higher prices — in some cases double the price of a standard Category 1 ticket.

Frustrated fans, in interviews with and messages to The Athletic last week, suspected that FIFA had given them lesser seats so that it could sell the better ones at elevated prices. But at the time, they had no firm evidence.

The new category essentially confirms their suspicions.

“This is just another example of how deceptive the original maps were,” one fan, Ben Kurzman, wrote in a Wednesday email. “[FIFA] let people believe that by buying Category 1 seats, they might end up in a lower sideline section close to the field, when that was never going to happen.”

The new “Front Category 1” had not been previously advertised or mentioned. From an initial “presale” phase in October through last week, the normal “Category 1” had been sold as the top tier of ticket, with prices now ranging from $10,990 for the World Cup final to $450 for some group-stage games. The maps shown to buyers suggested that these tickets could yield seats anywhere in any 100-level section or, at most stadiums, in mid-level sections with good views.

Separately, though, FIFA has been selling hospitality packages at even higher prices. And its hospitality “seating example” illustrations suggest that many of the lower-level sideline sections supposedly within Category 1 are actually being reserved for hospitality buyers.

Over the past week, as fans realized that hardly any Category 1 ticket holders had been placed in those coveted sideline sections, many fumed.

“A lot of people feel misled, or confused, or maybe just generally let down about the way seats were assigned,” Jordan Likover, one of the aggrieved fans, told The Athletic.

Then, on Wednesday, as The Athletic publicized the saga and outrage spread, FIFA went a step further.

It released new batches of tickets and, for at least 20 games, it listed these new “Front Category 1” and/or “Front Category 2” seats in the first several rows of certain sections.

For Algeria vs. Austria at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., for example, dozens of seats in the second row at the four corners of the stadium were priced at $900 apiece — twice as much as a standard Category 1 ticket that, if bought this winter, seemingly should have been eligible for placement in those exact same rows and sections.

Listings were similar for other matches. For Canada’s opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12, a “Front Category 1” seat — in row 5 of a sideline section near the corner of Toronto’s BMO Field — cost $3,360, up from $2,240 for a regular Category 1 ticket.

For U.S. vs. Paraguay at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles that same day, a “Front Category 1” seat in Row 7 of a corner section is $4,105 — up from the standard Category 1 price that has already turned off many avid fans, $2,730.

For more than a dozen games, the “Front Category 1” price was exactly double the standard Category 1 price.

For Uruguay vs. Saudi Arabia in Miami, that meant an increase from $600 to $1,200 for a low seat behind one of the goals.

For Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia in Houston, Uzbekistan vs. the Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta, and other less-glamorous matchups, the “Front” price was $900, up from $450.

“Front Category 2” seats, at the front of less desirable sections, were also being offered at smaller mark-ups.

The Athletic asked FIFA on Wednesday why these “front” seats weren’t simply allocated to fans who’d applied for Category 1 or 2 tickets in the “Random Selection Draw” this winter — when FIFA supposedly received more than 500 million ticket requests. At time of publication, FIFA has not responded.

It also has not said why the new category was created, nor why it was appropriate to previously advertise Category 1 as if it gave buyers a chance at any seat in any coveted section.

In an emailed statement Tuesday in response to another set of questions last week, a FIFA spokesperson said that the “indicative category maps” were “to help fans understand where their seats could be located within a stadium. These maps were designed to provide guidance rather than the exact seat layout, and reflect the general extent of each ticket category within the stadium.”

FIFA has not said how many of these “front” seats it plans to sell, nor how many tickets generally are still available for the 2026 World Cup. It seems to be releasing new batches unannounced on a rolling basis.

Fans, in interviews late last week, blasted the governing body for its opacity and for other aspects of the ticketing process.

“FIFA doesn’t have any goodwill with fans,” said Andrew Swart, a New York-based fan who said his Category 1 ticket — purchased for $862.50 on FIFA’s resale site — had yielded him a seat in a section once earmarked for Category 2. “Our default assumption is that they’re doing something to be either underhanded or maximize profit.”

FIFA has consistently defended its pricing and approach as a reflection of North American norms and “extraordinary” demand, and noted that, as a non-profit, it reinvests much of the World Cup’s revenue in the development of soccer globally.