FIFA has blown the whistle on the World Cup resale market, delisting all tickets for games set to be played in Toronto this summer. The international soccer body made the temporary move on its official website on Tuesday, removing the option to buy previously purchased tickets to the six games to be hosted at BMO Field, which will be renamed Toronto Stadium for the length of the tournament.
Why FIFA Removed Resale Tickets
According to The Canadian Press, FIFA’s resale platform is being “reconfigured” to comply with Ontario’s new law, which bans people and platforms from reselling tickets to events in the province at higher than face value. While there remain other options on the market, FIFA is operating its own resale platform through its site, where it adds on a 15% surcharge from both the buyer and the seller on any ticket resale.
The new legislation, which was announced in March, became law on Friday with outlets such as Ticketmaster delisting resales starting last week. The games taking place in Toronto are the only ones affected by FIFA’s move, with the other 15 host cities – 11 in the U.S., three in Mexico and Vancouver — still listed on the official site.
Can You Still Buy Resale Tickets Elsewhere?
Despite Ontario’s law coming into effect, there remain many tickets for sale on reseller StubHub — most of which are listed at higher than face value. Penalties for not complying with the new law start at $3,000 and can reach up to $250,000 for continued non-compliance.
Which Matches Are Taking Place in Toronto?
There are six matches set to take place at the expanded stadium on the Exhibition Grounds, with the most notable being Canada’s opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are four other group-stage matches set to take place in Toronto — Ghana-Panama, Germany vs. Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia-Panama and Senegal-Iraq — before hosting a Round of 32 knockout stage game between the second-place finishers from Groups K and L.
Are Games Sold Out?
According to FIFA, more than five million tickets had been sold as of last week, but there were several games that remained far from sold out. The Athletic reported that ticket sales for the United States’ World Cup opener against Paraguay were lagging behind other matches set to take place in Los Angeles. According to information obtained by the outlet that was distributed to local organizers, 40,934 tickets were listed as purchased for that June 12 match compared to 50,661 for the Iran-New Zealand match three days later at SoFi Stadium. The stadium’s capacity, as listed by FIFA, is 69,650 for the 2026 World Cup.
It is fairly easy to comprehend why tickets might be moving slowly for the match, however. As part of Wednesday’s “last-minute” sale, ticket prices for Front Category 1 seats were revealed to cost $5,740 per seat, while the Front Category 2 tickets — located in the first rows of the second deck — carried a price tag of $3,260. While some Category 3 tickets remained — seated in the corner sections of the upper deck — at $1,565, there were seats in the last row of SoFi Stadium around midfield that cost $2,715 each.
