Along with record-high ticket sales, the tournament has been plagued with scalpers and secondary ticket markets. Fans who purchased tickets through resale platforms like StubHub and SeatGeek say they were denied entry because their tickets had not been transferred to FIFA’s official app.
Some buyers say they were issued refunds after the matches they paid for had already been played or were almost over, and after having spent thousands of dollars on airfare, hotels, and other travel expenses.
Black-market ticket sales have led many supporters to criticize FIFA’s ticketing policies and dynamic pricing model. For matches with high demand, resale prices have soared to several times the original price. Tickets initially priced at 200 USD have been listed for thousands of dollars on secondary markets, putting them out of reach for many fans.
