{"id":701768,"date":"2026-05-29T15:03:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T15:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/701768\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T15:03:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T15:03:26","slug":"should-canada-investigate-world-cup-ticket-pricing-alongside-u-s-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/701768\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Canada investigate World Cup ticket pricing alongside U.S.? – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

As concerns grow about pricey World Cup<\/a> tickets, two American attorneys general have announced they plan to probe \u201ca range of issues that have arisen with FIFA\u2019s ticketing process.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This includes dynamic pricing that\u2019s driven the cost of the most in-demand tickets to five figures.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport released a joint announcement<\/a> that they\u2019re subpoenaing documents from FIFA regarding its pricing practices for matches at\u00a0New Jersey\u2019s MetLife Stadium.<\/p>\n

James and Davenport state that fans \u201cmay have been misled about the locations of the seats they were purchasing, and FIFA\u2019s public statements and ticket releases may have contributed to soaring prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing honest about ticket sales is not complicated. But FIFA has turned buying a ticket to the World Cup into a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity, and impossibly high prices \u2013 all at the expense of consumers and hardworking New Jerseyans,\u201d Davenport said.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFIFA World Cup worries as bookings, ticket sales are falling short in Canada, U.S.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Shushan Lily Vardanyan, a soccer fan based in Vancouver, has been on the hunt for World Cup tickets, but has yet to secure them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tickets that we find are like $800 to $1,000 per person and we are a family of three,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Because of the inaccessibility of tickets, Vardanyan is concerned about falling victim to a potential scam from individual vendors.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor low- to average-income families, it\u2019s not reasonable, and we know that soccer, one of the characteristics is its inclusiveness, its accessibility, its affordability,\u201d she said. \u201cAt least one game to go and feel the excitement and be included would have been nice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vibe is in the city, but we still feel excluded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vardanyan is supportive of the American investigation and hopes that Canada eventually follows suit.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think there should be some investigation and there should be transparency and it should speak to the value of the country that is hosting the games.\u201d<\/p>\n

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When tickets went on general sale in January, they ranged from US$140 to $8,680, The Associated Press reported. Since then, some have been made available for less and others for significantly more \u2014 rising to a face price of $32,970 for the final.<\/p>\n

FIFA can make more money on its resale marketplace, where it takes a 30 per cent commission from each sale. In April, the platform listed four tickets to the final for just under $2.3 million each.<\/p>\n

Fans have accused FIFA of a \u201cmonumental betrayal\u201d over its pricing strategy, but demand appears to be high and the not-for-profit organization says the money it makes goes back into the sport.<\/p>\n

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has defended the ticket prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to look at the market. We are in a market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world, so we have to apply market rates,\u201d he said earlier in May.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the U.S., it is permitted to resell tickets, as well, so if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price. And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double of our price.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou cannot go to watch in the U.S. a college game, not even speaking about a top professional game of a certain level, for less than $300.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tShould Canada investigate?\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

While Canada has not announced plans for a similar probe, a spokesperson for Competition Bureau Canada said in an emailed statement to Global News that the department is \u201caware of the recent announcement in the United States regarding FIFA\u2019s<\/a> ticketing practices\u201d ahead of the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe closely monitor the work of our international counterparts, while recognizing that each jurisdiction operates under its own legal framework,\u201d the Competition Bureau said, noting that its normal practice is not to confirm whether any investigations are underway until any of its potential work is completed.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore on Consumer
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The bureau released a statement<\/a> on May 21 outlining several risks people could face when buying tickets to events like high-demand soccer matches during the World Cup, including potential scams.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cAs summer arrives and brings a season packed with concerts, festivals, and sports events like the FIFA World Cup 2026, the Competition Bureau warns consumers to stay vigilant when buying event tickets,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs consumers are eager to secure seats for popular happenings, the excitement also creates opportunities for dishonest practices in the ticketing industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result, the bureau is advising caution to consumers for \u201cpotential scams before buying tickets this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Resale tickets for Toronto\u2019s six\u00a0World Cup\u00a0matches appear to have been temporarily removed from\u00a0FIFA\u2019s\u00a0resale platform after new rules came into effect in Ontario.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGovernment\u2019s World Cup Ticket Policy\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The Ford government passed its rules<\/a> on ticket resale into law, capping prices at face value for all tickets sold in the province, including the upcoming men\u2019s World Cup tournament.<\/p>\n

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The resale rules will cap resale prices for the soccer tournament at their original face value, meaning anybody who bought a resale ticket above face value before the law now stands to lose money if they sell it again.<\/p>\n

For example, if someone had originally bought their World Cup ticket for $600 and then resold it for $1,200 to someone else, that person would have to resell it for $600.<\/p>\n

FIFA is operating its own resale platform for the World Cup, where it has implemented no price rules and collects a 15 per cent surcharge from both the buyer and the seller.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Vardanyan and her family are clinging onto hope that they will be able to buy tickets for a Canadian World Cup match at an affordable price.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t give up. I still hope we will find one game to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 with a file from Global\u2019s Touria Izri and The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Have you encountered difficulties or scams while trying to get World Cup tickets? We want to hear from you. Use the contact form below to share your story, and we may be in touch for future articles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As concerns grow about pricey World Cup tickets, two American attorneys general have announced they plan to probe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":701769,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,1849,3274,44,65775,82,13009],"class_list":["post-701768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-consumer","tag-fifa","tag-news","tag-scams","tag-sports","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=701768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}