OAKLAND (LN) — California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a letter to FIFA on Wednesday raising concerns about potentially misleading ticketing practices for the 2026 World Cup and requesting information to assess potential violations of state consumer protection law.
Bonta’s office cited recent reports that FIFA sold tickets based on seating categories displayed on stadium maps and later altered those categorizations before assigning precise seat locations.
Bonta said in a statement that "Californians deserve transparency and fairness when purchasing tickets for any event held in our state" and emphasized that fans should be able to trust that purchased seats match the representations made during sales. He noted his personal connection to the sport, mentioning that he played soccer in college and has a daughter and daughter-in-law who play professionally.
The investigation focuses on matches scheduled for SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area and Levi’s Stadium in the San Francisco Bay area. The World Cup is set to begin June 11.
Bonta is requesting information on how seating categories were represented to buyers, whether seat assignments differed from those representations, what disclosures were provided, and how any issues were addressed through refunds or other remedies.
The attorney general emphasized that California law prohibits marketing practices likely to mislead consumers and bars organizations from justifying misleading practices by pointing to fine print or terms that a reasonable consumer would not have seen or understood.
Californians who believe they were misled can file a complaint at oag.ca.gov/report.