FIFA 2026 World Cup: New York, New Jersey AGs launch probe as ticket prices for MetLife Stadium matches skyrocket

New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport on Wednesday (local time) said that they are subpoenaing documents from FIFA over its pricing practices.

The development comes ahead of the FIFA 2026 World Cup matches and the skyrocketing ticket prices at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, CNN reported.

This isn't the first time that officials have questioned FIFA over its ticketing prices. Earlier this month, California Governor Rob Bonta also sought information from the tournament organiser to assess whether California law may have been violated during the sales process.

California law provides strong protections for consumers, including strict prohibitions on marketing practices that are likely to mislead them. Businesses and organisations also cannot justify misleading practices by pointing to fine print or other terms that a reasonable consumer would not have seen or understood. Recent reports have raised concerns that FIFA sold tickets based on seating categories displayed on stadium maps and later altered those seating categorisations before assigning precise seat locations.

New York, New Jersey AGs slam FIFA

Slamming the tournament organiser, New Jersey AG Davenport said, "Being honest about ticket sales is not complicated," and added, "But FIFA has turned buying a ticket to the World Cup into a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity, and impossibly high prices.”

Her counterpart, AG James, said New Yorkers “deserve a fair shot at affordable tickets” and that “fans should be able to trust that the tickets they purchase will be the ones they receive.”

FIFA has previously stated that its "pricing strategy spans a broad range of price points and categories, reflecting market demand for each match."

Ticket prices, seating to be probed

The issue revolves around prices and seating, with the attorney generals stating that "fans may have been misled about the locations of the seats they were purchasing, and FIFA’s public statements and ticket releases may have contributed to soaring prices.”

They will examine the tournament organiser's ticketing system and seating maps for MetLife Stadium, renamed New York New Jersey Stadium during the tournament, which they claim were altered after fans had already purchased tickets. Initially, the venue was divided into four seating categories, from Categories 1 through 4, with lower-numbered categories offering better locations.

However, after ticket sales began, FIFA created "new zones" and added a front section in each category. Fans complained that buyers of tickets for seats in the new zones “were excluded from those seats and instead assigned less-desirable seats, including seats far from the field or behind the goals.”

According to The New York Times, ticket prices for group matches in the US began at $60 for a few tickets but went up to over $600. Additionally, face-value tickets for the final were as much as $10,990.

Fans fume over soaring ticket prices

Reports suggest that football fans were already fuming over the high prices, which quickly soared exponentially higher on resale platforms, including up to two million dollars for the final.

In response to the outrage, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced last week an initiative to sell tickets for $50 to city residents. The tickets, which were made available through a lottery system, are expected to cover all matches at MetLife Stadium, excluding the final, and will also include round-trip bus transportation to the venue.

Mamdani’s initiative is the first and only programme by a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to provide residents with exclusive access to match tickets. The plan also mirrors a strategy used by Qatar during the 2022 World Cup, when residents were offered discounted tickets.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, with matches taking place across all three countries beginning on June 11. New Jersey will host its first match on June 13 and is scheduled to stage a total of eight matches, including the final on July 19.