Here’s what to do if your StubHub World Cup resale ticket is canceled

Many World Cup fans who bought resold tickets on StubHub were notified days or hours before the match that their tickets did not exist. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenMany World Cup fans who bought resold tickets on StubHub were notified days or hours before the match that their tickets did not exist. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty ImagesConsumedWorld Cup 2026Here’s what to do if your StubHub World Cup resale ticket is canceledWorld Cup StubHub ticket mess shows how weak consumer protections are in the US, but there are steps fans can take

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:

Fans who want to get to a game should be “persistent with customer service and demand that they get tickets”, said Hess.