Uzbekistan vs DR Congo Among World Cup Fixtures with Unsold Tickets
The upcoming 2026 World Cup group stage match between Uzbekistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo is among the fixtures with unsold tickets. According to the publication Sportschau, seats remain available for the game scheduled for June 28 at 04:30 (GMT+5).
A number of tickets are also unsold for other group stage games including the Saudi Arabia against Cape Verde and Austria versus Jordan fixtures.
Florian Ederer, an economist at Boston University, told Sportschau that FIFA may have overestimated fan interest in certain group stage matches featuring less prominent national teams.
Ederer stated that ticket prices were initially set high and remain at that level due to a dynamic pricing system. He explained that because this algorithm typically increases costs and rarely lowers them, it creates challenges in selling the remaining inventory to supporters.
Secondary markets and ticket distributions
This pricing structure has led to tickets appearing on secondary marketplaces. On the American platform SeatGeek, seats for lower-demand games are available with some listed below the official FIFA price.
The Financial Times recently reported that approximately 180,000 of the seven million tournament tickets could remain unsold. In response to the available seating, several organisations have initiated ticket distribution programmes. The Saudi Arabian embassy in the United States announced it would provide free tickets to its citizens living in America.
Similarly, Ghanaian representatives in Canada are distributing tickets ahead of their national team’s match against Panama in Toronto. Additionally, the American telecommunications company Verizon has started a promotional raffle to allocate tickets to 2,600 of its customers.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino previously stated that offering cheaper tickets would result in speculators purchasing the inventory to resell at higher prices.
Following the implementation of this pricing model, the European consumer network Euroconsumers and the advocacy group Football Supporters Europe have submitted formal complaints to the European Commission regarding the football governing body’s ticketing policies.
