Fans Report Ticket Transfer Failures at World Cup Matches

Fans arriving at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on June 16 for the Spain versus Cape Verde match reported that tickets bought months earlier on StubHub never appeared in the FIFA ticketing app. Bina Ramroop said she spent hours on the phone with StubHub and FIFA representatives, each attributing the problem to the other, before accepting a refund as the match began.

She had paid $485 per ticket for her grandson's birthday.

StubHub stated that FIFA's ticketing system has poor technology infrastructure and imposed last-minute transfer restrictions. FIFA said sales through its official marketplace are guaranteed to complete. Pape Ndaw said he received an email from StubHub two days before the June 14 Netherlands versus Japan match in Dallas stating the seller could not deliver the tickets he bought in December for $550 each.

and Penalties StubHub's FanProtect

Guarantee allows the company to choose between replacement tickets and a refund at its sole discretion. Michael McCann, a sports law expert at the University of New Hampshire, said buyers challenging that language under state consumer protection statutes would face an uphill battle.

Scott Friedman, co-founder of the Ticket Talk Network, said some sellers list tickets they do not yet own and later cancel when prices rise, facing penalties of 200 percent of the ticket price on StubHub. Patrick O'Neil said three of five tickets purchased for the Atlanta match did not transfer.

After local media coverage, StubHub offered replacement tickets for another game, which the family declined in favor of donating the seats to a local nonprofit.