World Cup resale ticket failures leave fans stranded at matches

During the 2025 World Cup, a growing number of fans who bought tickets on resale platforms reported that their tickets never arrived on match day, forcing them to miss games or seek costly replacements. Fans such as 65‑year‑old John McNicholas, who drove from New Jersey to Boston and spent over $1,200 on a Scotland‑Morocco ticket, learned at halftime that his StubHub tickets had failed. Brad Michel from Texas spent about $15,600 on Netherlands‑Sweden seats, only to receive a last‑minute offer of inferior “comparable” tickets and no refund. Canadian fan Brett Romas was sent tickets for a different match in Boston instead of Portugal‑Uzbekistan in Houston. Complaints target StubHub, Vivid Seats and SeatGeek. StubHub blames FIFA’s ticket‑ing infrastructure, while FIFA says it can only guarantee tickets bought through its official platform. Many fans are still seeking refunds or satisfactory replacements.