A growing number of World Cup fans who thought they had bought tickets to matches on the ticket reseller StubHub were notified with just days or hours to spare that their tickets did not exist.
Horror stories about stranded families, ruined once-in-a-lifetime trips, thousands of dollars squandered, and hang-ups on StubHub’s customer service line are flooding social media and local news.
It’s the latest sign of the powerlessness many consumers feel in the US, say advocates who estimate thousands of World Cup fans may have been affected.
“The system is deeply broken and flawed at all levels,” said Brian Hess, the executive director of the Sports Fans Coalition, a non-profit that advocates for fans’ rights. “Consumers should not have to fight like this,” he said.
StubHub has a history of failing to deliver promised tickets, claimed Bradford Clements, an attorney and former Texas state prosecutor who has more than 150 clients, both buyers and sellers, who say they were ripped off or misled by StubHub and are owed $2.4m.
“This happens over and over” – not just at World Cup matches, Clements said. StubHub often says the seller pulled out of the ticket swap at the last minute, but that’s frequently not the case, he said.
A StubHub spokesperson said that fans should “contact us directly and ask for World Cup specialist support”. Many of the World Cup issues had to do with a faulty new ticketing app that Fifa introduced just before the tournament, StubHub said.
“The issues fans have experienced at this World Cup are transfer problems, not ticket problems,” the spokesperson said. Fifa’s app “has experienced significant performance issues that have affected ticket transfers across all resale platforms”, which are outside StubHub’s control.
Fifa said that Fifa.com/tickets, the company’s primary ticket sales and the official resale platform, “is the official ticket sales channel for the Fifa World Cup 2026. Fifa can guarantee the validity and delivery of tickets purchased through its official platforms.”
The Guardian spoke to consumer advocates, lawyers, company representatives and analysts about what thwarted ticket holders could do to get their money back or get to the game, and what reform is on the horizon. Here’s what they suggest:
Demand tickets from the company …
Fans who want to get to a game should be “persistent with customer service and demand that they get tickets”, said Hess.
“Don’t just accept the refund” that StubHub offers, he said. Refuse to get off the phone until you are given a replacement ticket.
If the normal customer service process doesn’t work, “escalate in writing to a manager”, says Chris Elliott, founder of consumer advocate Elliott Advocacy, which publishes contacts for hundreds of executives, including StubHub’s.
But be aware, you won’t get the same quality seats
StubHub’s FanProtect guarantee promises buyers: “Your tickets will be the same as or comparable to those you ordered.”
What many users don’t realize is that the company bases “comparable” on the price of the ticket, not where it is located in the stadium.
So if you bought World Cup tickets weeks ago, and they’re canceled a day before a match, StubHub will replace them with tickets that cost as much as the purchase price weeks ago. That generally means much “worse” seats, location-wise.
Fans who don’t want to attend a match should be able to dispute the ticket charges on their credit card.
Complain, formally and informally
Pressure from social media posts and local media is likely to affect the ways StubHub and Fifa resolve this situation.
US residents can also lodge formal complaints with the Federal Trade Commission and their state’s attorney general.
Outside the US, fans can file with their local consumer regulator.
The Ticket Act, a bill that bans speculative ticketing, passed the House of Representatives last year and was tucked into a 2025 fiscal spending omnibus bill, but was sidelined when that spending bill narrowed. Incensed fans can back a renewed call to Congress members to pass it.
The situation is a reminder that “the practice of ghost ticketing should be outlawed”, said Emily Peterson-Cassin, the director of competition and market fairness at the Consumer Federation of America.
Gear up for arbitration
StubHub is one of many companies that US consumers can’t sue because of arbitration clauses. Some customers hire private lawyers to represent them through the cumbersome process that takes months.
It involves sending a “notice of dispute” by certified letter to an address StubHub provides, which changes regularly.
Then, the American Arbitration Association reviews claims and appoints an expert, like a retired judge or veteran attorney, to decide them for a $225 fee.
Consumer advocates have pushed for Congress to repeal forced arbitration, a movement that could get more traction after the World Cup.
“What we like to see in any consumer protection law is ways people can go to court to get their money back,” said Peterson-Cassin.
Buy some stock to get a voice
If all else fails, Elliott notes, sometimes disgruntled customers buy shares in a public company’s stock and then use shareholder meetings to ask executives questions directly.
Think twice about resellers next time
From now on, only buy “downloadable” tickets that are immediately available, consumer advocates say.
Or better yet, said Clements: “Don’t trust StubHub to begin with. Buy tickets directly from Fifa for the World Cup or directly from the venue for other events.”
