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Fifa has withdrawn around 60 World Cup tickets that were inadvertently given out for free because of a website malfunction, adding another chapter to the ongoing debate surrounding the tournament’s ticketing system.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the football governing body confirmed that the tickets were “issued at no cost (0 USD) due to an earlier payment error during checkout.”

“Fifa regrets the mistake and the inconvenience this may have caused,” the organisation said, further explaining that “the tickets requested by the affected fans remain reserved, and those fans have been asked to finalise payment for the correct amount.”

This latest issue comes amid a broader controversy over Fifa’s ticketing process, which is currently being scrutinised by the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey for potential violations of consumer protection laws.

The incorrectly priced tickets were purchased on 21 May through the official World Cup website, occurring more than three months after Fifa president Gianni Infantino had publicly declared that all 104 World Cup matches were completely sold out.

The World Cup is set to begin next week in Mexico City, despite previous claims that all tickets had been sold. Fifa continues to offer tickets for various matches, raising questions about whether prices for less sought-after games might drop under its controversial surge pricing model.

Additionally, Fifa operates its own official resale platform, charging a 15 per cent commission to both buyers and sellers in an effort to curb unauthorised ticket trading. However, as of Friday, platforms like Seat Geek still showed wide availability for many fixtures.

Ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup are substantially higher than for any previous edition of the tournament.

Defending the steep prices, Fifa has stated that the increased revenue will generate billions of dollars to be distributed among member associations to support the global growth of football.

This pricing and distribution shift follows Fifa’s decision to take full control of World Cup operations, including ticketing, breaking away from the traditional system of collaborating with host nations’ local organising committees.

When the football federations of the United States, Canada, and Mexico were awarded hosting rights in 2018, they had promised that hundreds of thousands of group-stage tickets would be sold for as little as $21 each.