“Exasperated fans who bought the ‘right to buy’ 2026 World Cup tickets say that FIFA has forced them into an ‘unjust ultimatum’: gamble that opaque ticket prices will be affordable, or cut their losses and concede that they were ‘scammed.’ Over the past year, FIFA and a crypto partner, Modex, sold tens of thousands of ‘Right To Buy’ tokens on their FIFA Collect platform. Each token cost hundreds of dollars and promised buyers the ability to purchase one or two World Cup tickets at a to-be-determined later date, for a to-be-determined price. Eager fans flocked to the platform. Many saw the so-called ‘RTBs’ as a clever way to bypass ticket lotteries or avoid getting gouged by scalpers or FIFA’s ‘variable pricing.’ …”
NY Times/The Athletic
NY Times/The Athletic: FIFA’s next 2026 World Cup cash cow: Exorbitant parking prices