Fans Left Outside Atlanta Stadium as StubHub Tickets Fail to Transfer

Bina Ramroop stood outside Atlanta Stadium on Monday as Spain faced Cape Verde, unable to transfer two tickets she had bought on StubHub for $485 each for her grandson Elijah Gomes’s 13th birthday. She spent hours on calls between StubHub and FIFA representatives, each blaming the other, before accepting a refund once the match began.

Ramroop and Gomes later took the train back to the Atlanta suburbs, where Gomes followed the 0-0 draw on his phone.

An Associated Press journalist counted more than a dozen other fans at the same match who described identical transfer failures. StubHub issued a statement attributing the problems to FIFA’s “poor technology infrastructure,” last-minute transfer restrictions, and the late launch of FIFA’s ticketing app.

FIFA stated on Wednesday that purchases made through its official site are guaranteed to complete.

FIFA charges a 30 percent surcharge—15 percent from the buyer and 15 percent from the seller—on every resale completed through its marketplace. Many supporters bought elsewhere because StubHub and similar sites often list lower prices or simpler navigation. Ramroop said she had used StubHub without issue in the past and did not realize the transfer risk.

Pape Ndaw bought two tickets for the Netherlands versus Japan match near Dallas for roughly $550 each in December. The tickets never arrived, and Ndaw accepted store credit instead of a refund. When last-minute tickets rose above $1,500 each, he asked StubHub to convert the credit back to cash, but the company refused.

Patrick O’Neil of Pittsboro, North Carolina, purchased five tickets through StubHub for the Spain versus Cape Verde match. Two transferred successfully and were used by his 15-year-old son and an uncle; O’Neil, his wife, and one relative watched the game from a nearby bar. After local media reported the family’s situation, StubHub offered replacement tickets.