World Cup fans report delays, lack of payment from FIFA over resold tickets

Maximilian Haupt / picture alliance / Getty Images Share article1FIFA has been delaying payments worth thousands of dollars to some resellers of 2026 World Cup tickets, sometimes in apparent violation of its own legal terms and conditions. Several fans told The Athletic, and hundreds have complained online, that FIFA has not paid them the money they’re owed months after their tickets were purchased by other fans on FIFA’s resale platform. The buyers of those tickets paid FIFA, which runs the World Cup and operates the official ticket “marketplace.” In some cases, FIFA has distributed the money to resellers expeditiously — minus the 15% cut that FIFA takes from both sellers and buyers on each sale. In other cases, though, sellers have been told their credit cards could not be refunded; they’ve been asked to give bank account information; they’ve sent rounds of emails and called any FIFA phone number they can find in an effort to chase down the money they are owed. Most, it seems, eventually do receive their money, but some have waited — or are still waiting — well beyond the 60-day deadline that FIFA sets for itself in its “Ticket Transfer and Resale Terms” document. The document, which says it was “last updated May 6, 2026,” states: “After the Marketplace’s receipt of payment from a Resale Purchaser, FIFA … will pay [the reseller] within 60 calendar days from the date of Purchase or such shorter period as required by applicable law.” An FAQ page also states in plainer language: “Payment will be made within 60 calendar days from the date the ticket is purchased by the new buyer … provided you have met all terms and submitted the required payment information.” Some fans who resold tickets in the fall or winter, though, still have not been paid. “It’s insane what’s happening,” Marcos Medeiros, a Florida-based fan who resold multiple batches of tickets and waited over 100 days for some of his money, told The Athletic. He, like others, said he filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and other entities that fans hope will hold FIFA accountable. FIFA, when asked about the reasons for resale payment delays, said in an emailed statement: “While the majority of cases are completed as expected, some more complex cases require additional review and therefore take longer to process. Payment timelines can also be affected where customer-provided information, such as bank details, is incomplete or requires further verification. “FIFA remains committed to processing all payments as efficiently as possible while maintaining the highest standards of accuracy, security, and compliance.” In some cases, a single reseller has been paid via refund to their credit card for one sale, but then been told by FIFA: “unfortunately, we were unable to issue a refund to the payment card” for another sale, despite the same card being used for all transactions around the same time. They’ve then been asked for bank details, including account and routing numbers. The inconsistency and subsequent delays have sparked confusion. “It doesn’t make any sense,” Matthew Elias, a Toronto-based fan who has waited nearly five months for payment from FIFA, told The Athletic. FIFA, in its statement, explained that if the “amount due … exceeds the original purchase amount, the balance cannot be paid back to the card, and an alternative payment method is required.” It cited “payment card scheme rules and applicable anti-fraud and anti-money laundering requirements.” Those requirements, though, don’t explain the delays. Many fans say they provided banking information not long after FIFA requested it; and months later, they are or were still waiting. Elias said he initially bought two batches of tickets back in November. He hoped that either the tickets or the money he’d make reselling them would allow him and a few lifelong friends to see his favorite team, Portugal. A month later, after the World Cup draw, on Dec. 15, he sold one batch of tickets. And when FIFA asked, he gave his bank info. Roughly two months after that, he emailed FIFA — at fwc2026.ticketing.enquiries@tickets.fifa.org — to request “an update on when funds can be expected.” In response, after an initial misunderstanding, a FIFA ticketing representative told him: “we have received your Bank Details. Your refund will be processed in the coming weeks.” Weeks later, on April 2, Elias emailed again, according to screenshots he provided to The Athletic: “We are now approaching 107 calendar days [since the sale].” He cited the “within 60 calendar days” language on FIFA’s website, and said: “I’d like a realistic timeframe to receive my funds. Thanks.” Seven days later, he received a response: “Dear Matthew Elias. Thank you for contacting the FIFA Ticketing Center. Please note that we are looking into your case, and we will contact you within the next five to seven working days.” On the seventh working day, April 20, he received another email with identical language. On April 30, he emailed again: “I’m following up regarding my outstanding funds. Your published FAQ indicates a processing timeframe … which has now been exceeded, as today marks 136 days since eligibility.” He requested a “status update” and a “revised timeline.” He received a third identical response: “Dear Matthew Elias. Thank you for contacting the FIFA Ticketing Center. Please note that we are looking into your case, and we will contact you within the next five to seven working days.” Other fans — on Reddit threads, in Facebook groups, in messages to The Athletic and elsewhere — have described similar experiences. Medeiros said he got conflicting responses from FIFA representatives when he contacted them via phone and email. “It was ridiculous,” he said. “No one could give me a straight answer — or people would give me different answers.” Robert Rodriguez, a Texas-based fan who ultimately received the $1,615 that FIFA owed him three months after reselling two tickets, said he struggled to even find a phone number or email address to contact as he wondered about his refund. “It has been quite the odyssey,” Rodriguez told The Athletic. Having attended three previous men’s World Cups (1994, 2002 and 2018), plus two Under-20 World Cups and a Confederations Cup, Rodriguez was determined to attend this one in his home state — or in Kansas City, near where he went to college. And he was specifically determined to see Argentina, the country of his family’s lineage. So, he bought two pairs of tickets in October, then sold both after the draw, and reasoned that the roughly $900 he made on one match (Netherlands vs. Japan) would subsidize his purchase of Argentina tickets on the secondary market. But due to FIFA’s payment delays, it didn’t exactly work like that. “I ended up having to up-front the next $1,600 for the Argentina tickets,” Rodriguez explained. “It’s just frustrating,” said Elias, who owes some of the withheld money to friends. “Soccer’s the biggest sport in the world, [FIFA is] the governing body, they’re not like a small little Mickey Mouse company.” He and many others have wondered why FIFA is delaying the payments to resellers. FIFA, when asked to explain what it does with the money before paying resellers and how much interest it earns, said it “operates in accordance with the applicable terms and conditions governing ticket resale transactions. We have nothing further to add beyond the provisions set out in those terms.” The terms state: “Reseller is not entitled to receive any interest or any other earnings on any funds held by or on behalf of FIFA Ticketing prior to payment to Reseller.” FIFA has consistently defended various aspects of its ticketing approach, such as its prices, by pointing out that, as a non-profit, it reinvests a significant chunk of men’s World Cup revenue in an array of soccer development initiatives across the globe. Its strategies, though, have come with consequences. “They’re really souring this for the common fan,” Rodriguez said. He hoped that, a month out, he would be feeling excitement for a World Cup on home soil, but he’s been turned off by the unending ticket saga. “The sad thing is,” he said, “it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms