“Fans are worried that the unsuccessful experience of the club championship will be repeated.”, – WRITE: Football.ua
Fans are worried that the unsuccessful experience of the club championship will be repeated.
Last week, the organization finally revealed the calendar, the stages of the lottery and the estimated prices. But since 2023, tens of thousands of tokens have been sold on the FIFA Collect platform, which guarantee owners the opportunity to buy one or two tickets for the 2026 CSF match. The tokens themselves cost hundreds of dollars, and did not include the cost of the ticket – it will still have to be paid separately, at a price that FIFA has not set.
According to FIFA Collect sites and users who shared the numbers with The Athletic, more than 30,000 such Right to Buy (RTB) were sold. This brought FIFA more than $ 10 million, and some estimates raise the amount even above 20 million. An accurate calculation is impossible, because some of the tokens were sold with tickets to the Club Championships of 2025 or other digital collection items. But RTB profit exceeds 15 million. In total, sales for FIFA Collect have already brought about $ 29 million.
In fact, RTB is an expensive quick solution for those who want to bypass lottery and queues. The site explains directly: “RTB ownership does not include a ticket cost. It only gives access to its purchase.”
From cheap nft to expensive purchase rights FIFA Collect is a FIFA digital collectible platform in collaboration with the MODEX blockchain service. Formally, the Modex leads it, but the owner is FIFA. In April, the FIFA COLLECT administrator emphasized in Discord: “We are working in close contact with FIFA. We are part of FIFA … Everything concerning tickets is consistent directly with FIFA Ticketing and the organization’s management.”
FIFA actively advertised the platform: both in newsletters and social networks and official accounts. In May 2024, for example, a post appeared on Instagram: “Get the right to buy a ticket to the first matches collection of US on #Weare26 only on @fifapluscollet!”
In January 2025, the newsletter from FIFA began with a line: “Open tickets for the 2026 World Cup with a new FIFA Collect Drop.” And this September visitors FIFA.com met the window: “Will you be there when the story is created?
When a platform called FIFA+ Collect was launched in 2022, it was advertised as accessible and inclusive for all football fans. At first it was a small community of collectors who bought inexpensive NFTs. “It was presented as a reliable and innovative digital collection ecosystem under the FIFA brand”, – The user of Allan Dias remembers in a comment by The Athletic.
In 2023, the interest began to fade, but in 2024 the platform came to life thanks to new mechanics. Initially, the challengi appeared who made the fans collect full cards to exchange them for Right to Buy for the 2026 World Cup. And then FIFA Collect began to sell RTB separately or in a package with a guaranteed right to purchase.
The first major release took place in May 2024, new waves were in the fall. For example, for $ 699 it was possible to buy a collection item of a limited series, which guaranteed the right to buy two group tickets for a group stage at Hard Rock Stadium in Miam. Under the conditions, the tickets are paid separately, and the card only opens access to their purchase.
Spring and summer of 2025 became a real boom: in April, May and June, new drops came out weekly. In June alone, more than 5 thousand PACKS were sold with RTB for one or two tickets of the 2026 World Cup. Prices varied: from $ 279 for a random game in Philadelphia, Atlanta or Boston-up to $ 3,000 per Double Opening Glory, which included the right to buy a ticket for a match at Mexico City plus two tickets for the opening of the World Cup.
According to FIFA Collect Info, users spent about $ 13 million in just three months (April-June), most of the RTB. In July and August, a wave of new issues continued, and even last week the platform still appeared Glory Packees for individual cities.
In parallel, FIFA launched other actions. For example, Right to Final: A fan could choose a team (say, USA), pay $ 999 and get a guaranteed right to buy a ticket for the finale, if this national team gets there. At the same time, the Americans ranked 48th in the world and had a ghostly chance to become champions.
Or Road to Final Glory – Double Edition: For $ 1,499, the buyer received RTB for two matches, randomly selected among such stages – 1/8 finals (46 tokens), quarterfinals (20), semi -finals (10), match for third place (5) or finals (1).
When asked who is responsible for pricing and packaging “Right to Buy, FIFA has hardly given specifics. The organization’s representative limited to the statement:
“By giving fans from all over the world the opportunity to own digital elements of global game and participate in unique initiatives, Fifa Collect democratizes access to football. The concept of Right to Buy is central to this vision. It rewards the collectors with a highlight. to form a fair pricing strategy. “
But in good words, many questions are hidden without answers. In most cases, RTB owners know neither the prices of real tickets or even the categories of places that they offer.
A failure with the club championship of the world The first bell was still on the club World Cup. Then RTB owners faced the chaotic exchange system. “It was a complete failure”, Said user John Hit in The Athletic letter. “Instead of the promised choice between different categories of places, fans were forced to buy only the most expensive – Category 1.”
Organizers on Discord Collies have admitted that they had to change the conditions because of new instructions from FIFA Ticketing. But why this happened, FIFA did not officially explain.
As a result, many fans paid more than they just waited and purchased tickets directly on Ticketmaster before the tournament.
Fears before the World Cup 2026 The discord-chops were gathering a wave of dissatisfaction. “It’s not just about RTB,” one of the users wrote. “It’s about constant blurred promises and unexpected changes in the last minute.”
Another fan added: “What gives us confidence that the 2026 World Cup will not be the same?”
The user under the nickname Blok explained his fears as follows: “Many have burned on the club FIFA.
Last Wednesday, when FIFA released the first details of ticket sales without mentioning the RTB owners, Discord literally exploded. “Absurdity, how little do we know, – wrote one of the users. – Thousands of dollars spent, and there is no answer. “
Where do money go from selling RTB Increasing the number of drops with the “right to purchase” tickets at the World Cup 2026 attracted the attention of not only fans but also dealers. “In the system, speculators appeared”– Allan Dias told Ancient User in a comment on The Athletic. According to him, some accounts on FIFA Collect had over 100 RTB. Such tokens could be converted to tickets and resell with a margin, or to resell RTB on the internal market. Of each such Agreement, MODEX, FIFA partner, holds 5% of the commission.
Demand was especially high in Mexico. This forced FIFA Collect to raise prices for national team match. Yes, the right to buy two tickets for the game of Mexico in Guadalahar this summer was at first cost $ 2,799, and then increased to 2 999.
The promotional descriptions of some packs were hinted at the probable involvement of Mexico. For example, in the City Glory package: Miami for $ 449 was stated directly: “This package can be RTB for one of five random matches, including quarterfinals (M99), which can potentially play Mexico.”
Many users have told reporters that FIFA Collect purposefully beats the Mexican community using its fan dedication.
FIFA on charity and development How much money from RTB goes directly to FIFA’s cash desk, and how many MODEX or charity is unknown. Since July, new packs have been accompanied by a note that 20% of income is sent to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Foundation. They promise to expand access to education for children from low -income families, build safe schools and support projects in more than 200 countries. The FIFA Collect website indicates that $ 1.4 million has now been raised.
FIFA representative in response to the question of the distribution of income said: “FIFA does not disclose the details of commercial and financial agreements. Like all our projects, they go to football development and social initiatives in the world. Modex takes a commission for scaling operations and technical support.”
However, even the largest RTB profit looks modest against the backdrop of $ 3 billion, which FIFA plans to earn in 2026 for ticket sales. According to FIFA Collect Info, about 70,000 tickets have already been reserved because of RTB – this is only about 1% of six million, which FIFA plans to sell for 104 matches of the tournament.
The Athieltic