Thousands of tickets for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which were recently taken off the organisation’s official portal, have ended up on the resale marketplace, reports newsweek.com.

In late May, the number of tickets fans were able to purchase from the organisation suddenly dropped by 44,000 to under 30,000. FIFA has not offered an explanation for the decline, which TicketData.com said was due to an unspecified “sudden inventory removal.”

Reports emerged that there had been an increase in tickets at lower prices across resale platforms like SeatGeek and StubHub, with some speculating that this was a deliberate strategy by the organisation to clear unsold inventory for lower-demand games, and to avoid compensation claims from fans who had previously bought tickets from FIFA at face value.

According to analysis by a source familiar with the figures who spoke to Newsweek, the number of tickets which disappeared in late May closely matches the volume that has since appeared on resale marketplaces, indicating that they were transferred in bulk from FIFA’s official ticketing system.

The transfer does not confirm that this was an official strategy by FIFA to influence demand or pricing, and Newsweek has contacted the organisation via email for comment.

FIFA has come under scrutiny for high prices at this year’s tournament. The organisation said this was due in part to its use of a “dynamic pricing” model, which adjusts costs based on demand, as well as high levels of interest in the World Cup.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has also placed blame on the secondary ticket market, arguing that seats need to be set at “market rates,” as resellers would purchase lower-priced tickets and then distribute these at “a much higher price.”

Prices on resale platforms are typically higher than those purchased directly from an organiser. But resale prices have, until recently, been dropping to less than the official releases in many cases, amid reports of sluggish fan demand for the tournament. Following the sudden disappearance of over 40,000 tickets from the main platform in late May, some have observed an uptick in the number available on the resale marketplace, as well as lower relative prices for certain fixtures.