, external<\/span><\/a> world football’s governing body says it “strongly encourages you to purchase all types of tickets” through its official platforms.<\/p>\nFifa also warns that tickets bought via other routes “may be invalid and may be subject to cancellation without notice”.<\/p>\n
But on Tuesday, shortly after the inventory on Fifa’s own site fell, the availability on SeatGeek appeared to increase markedly.<\/p>\n
Not just random, single seats but batches of seats in rows of specific blocks. <\/p>\n
This was highlighted on social media, and within 24 hours the availability on SeatGeek seemed to decrease again.<\/p>\n
TicketData says that on Wednesday the number of tickets on Fifa’s own site jumped back up to 37,000.<\/p>\n
It is impossible to verify who listed the tickets, and why. Or why the numbers changed on the Fifa site.<\/p>\n
As well as SeatGeek, there are thousands of listings on sites such as StubHub and VividSeats. <\/p>\n
Anyone can make listings on these external sites, and the tickets themselves might not even exist. <\/p>\n
SeatGeek has denied any direct role but this does not mean Fifa, or one of its partners, could not be operating and listing independently. <\/p>\n
A statement read: “SeatGeek is a trusted marketplace that gives fans secure access to tickets across tens of thousands of live events, including the World Cup. We do not have a partnership or distribution agreement with Fifa.” <\/p>\n
Fifa has been approached for comment but, as has been the case throughout the ticket sales process, no response has been received. <\/p>\n
There are other indicators on SeatGeek, too.<\/p>\n
Rather than the cost of seats being random, they seem to be set at regular, incremental prices row by row – getting more expensive the closer you get to the front.<\/p>\n
Looking at two blocks behind the goal for Uzbekistan v Congo DR, there are 60 listings of multiple tickets priced between $250 (\u00a3190) and $296 (\u00a3225) across blocks 102 and 103. <\/p>\n
When Fifa released its more expensive ‘front’ tickets in April, it sent a clear message that it felt the closer you were to the pitch, the more valuable the ticket was.<\/p>\n
The price increases by a few dollars, row by row. All priced well below the face value of $380 (\u00a3289).<\/p>\n
So either a lot of people are losing a lot of money, or it is a plan to shift inventory. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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