After a group stage marred for some by ticket transfer troubles, the stakes only get higher as the World Cup progresses.
Morocco fans cheer before the start of the Morocco vs. Haiti in a Group C FIFA World Cup match at Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Jason Getz/AJC)
The atmosphere inside Atlanta’s World Cup matches so far has been electric, featuring pulse-pounding moments.
But for an unlucky few, they had to settle for listening to the elated crowds from outside the temporarily renamed Atlanta Stadium despite paying to get in. The tickets they bought through third-party websites never materialized.
“I didn’t want a refund, I didn’t want my money back,” Bina Ramroop told the Associated Press after the tickets she bought for the Spain-Cape Verde game through StubHub were never transferred, leading to a refund. “I wanted to go to the game.”
Bina Ramroop holds proof of the ticket she bought through StubHub for the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Cape Verde in Atlanta on Monday, June 15, 2026. (Emilie Megnien/AP)
The World Cup group stage was marred for fans whose experiences mirrored Ramroop’s, leading FIFA and third-party platforms like StubHub to point fingers at each other amid the fallout. That was when the matchups had been known months in advance and tickets were relatively affordable, even if prices set records compared to prior World Cups.
kcitpu ,selbuort refsnart s’tnemanruot ot ot stekcit eerht sdnasuoht rieht eht eht eht eht smaet ,enots trats sekats egats tes eludehcs selaser gniniamer sesiar detcejorp secirp fo fo .sehctam tuokconk si esaercni gnidulcni ni ni sdnah wollof lanif etirovaf snaf yllaicepse yrtne .srallod tsoc tsepaehc gnignahc sa sa sa era sehcaorppa yna dna osla tekciT ehT s’atnaltA
etisbew saw saw gnikcart ot ot stekcit eht eht taht lanifimes ees dnuor ecirp ecirp fo fo hctam ni tsepaehc gnidrocca .m.a .moc.atadtekciT ,yadnoM yluJ roF s’atnaltA ,atnaltA sA 7 61 51 .456,3$ ,448,1$
hcihw hgiew dlot ot ot ot ytrap-driht rieht eht eht taht egrahcrus .srelles ,relles ksir elaser rehto ro laiciffo fo ,ecalptekram tnerehni evah rednuof snaf seciohc seirrac reyub htob neewteb dna a ,moc.atadtekciT ehT ,ollegaP htieK noitutitsnoC-lanruoJ s’AFIF atnaltA %51
yehT“ .setisbew ot ”,stekcit ytrap-driht meht s’relles dias tup ecudorp fo ekam daeh eh nug t’nac dna a a
Ticket verification
elbairav“ hcihw nehw tahw desu eht ”.gnicirp ,gnicirp secirp no nwonk s’ti ti si ni sah etautculf tsrif cimanyd .dnamed sllac desab sa dlroW sihT AFIF puC oslA
hcihw tekcit eht eht eht taht taht ygetarts ,ffats gniyas detroper noitcelfer gnicirp gnilurrevo fo .tekram sredael s’ti devlovni yllaitini ni evah lareneg derovaf dezisahpme dednefed ,noisiced noisiced laisrevortnoc ssarb .saera elbadroffa noissimda a a a desab-.S.U htroN s’tI naidrauG AFIF AFIF naciremA
htiw ,setisbew ot ot emit ytrap-driht eht hcus elaser hgih-drocer .secirp ecirp etarepo on gnidael sah tsrif ,spac sa dna osla dewolla ,staeSdiviV retsamtekciT ,buHbutS s’tI AFIF
ot“ hcihw hcihw ew yfirev dlot ot ot stekcit ytrap-driht er’yeht yeht rieht eht eht eht taht pots ,setis dias thgir ,smroftalp no fo ”.won deen ylegral s’ti .ti eh worg rof evitucexe hguone t’nod gniod gniod rotcerid detaerc ecneicsnoc smialc eveileb dab euneva t’nera era dna na osla yllautca srotca esuba a euneV nehpetS ,rekraP lanoitaN tnednepednI eH ,noitaicossA CJA
htiw hcihw nehw ot ot ,stekcit stekcit yeht eht evitaluceps elas srelleser yltnecer dennep ,noitazinagro no rettel srekamwal tnioj si .evah tsohg rof t’nod gnillac nab dna gnola esitrevda yllautca a s’rekraP naF ssergnoC ,ecnaillA
roop“ ot ot hguorht .hguoht eht taht ygolonhcet hcus etis syas selas secitcarp ,mroftalp no laiciffo .sehctam del sti sti seussi ”erutcurtsarfni eliforp-hgih neppah deetnaraug og rof ylrae gnirud seined gnimalb era dlroW buHbutS AFIF AFIF s’puC
Fans of Spain celebrate Lamine Yamal’s goal during the first half against Saudia Arabia in a Group H FIFA World Cup match at Atlanta Stadium on Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)
ehT“ sA“ llew ew refsnart refsnart refsnart dlot ot stekcit yeht ”,meht rieht eht eht eht naht ,egats nosrepsekops dluohs dluohs eviecer rehtar elbissop s’rezinagro ecno ”.fo fo tuokconk ffokcik si otni daeh evah emag tneve neve ylrae daolnwod syaled yad yad mrifnoc noitelpmoc esolc nac sreyub sa sa ppa osla daeha retfa .detpecca a a buHbutS sreyuB .CJA
ylraen“ ”.emit stekcit taht tnemetats dlos dias mroftalp ruo no no fo ni evah dereviled neeb a dlroW staeSdiviV puC 6202 %001
ot ytrap-driht dnopser tseuqer ralupop ,mroftalp ton rof did .tnemmoc rehtona a ,keeGtaeS
nellaf“ ”.tnemanruot ot tekcit daerht eht taht evitaluceps laicos trohs ,noitces .taes dias wor gniriuqer detsop sredro no aidem ,sgnitsil detsil tsuj ti edulcni evah sah yreve t’nseod dna dedda ssorca a a ,yadsendeW retsamtekciT retsamtekciT limuaS tnediserP atheM atheM nI labolG 02
ohw yllacipyt ot ot stekcit tekcit eht eht srelles gnignar desimorp ecudorp ecirp .mroftalp no fo ,ytfeh morf rof liaf gnidneped era seitlaneP %004 %002
esrevrep“ erehw levart ot ot .hguorht esoht eseht rieht taht denrocs selas dias seitlanep erom yenom ekam daetsni ”evitnecni ,revewoh rof rof llaf sremotsuc setaerc dluoc etasnepmoc seinapmoc dellac yb gniwolla .snoitadommocca a ,rekraP eH
‘Demand climbs sharply’
,yldliw nehw ot tekcit eht smaet egats secirp desiop .hctam-dim ,ediug puorg etautculf yllaicepse sa era era osla a gnisU
dluow ,niw ot ot stekcit tekcit eht eht eht eht eht eht s’maet trats detekcoryks dnuor dehcnup dellup emirp detniop yalp no fo lanoitan s’nem hctam hctam sti ti ni ni deetnaraug .elpmaxe noitanimile gnirud sa sa dna daeha tsniaga a a htiW .yadsendeW .S.U .S.U .S.U moc.atadtekciT naS elaseR ollegaP enuJ ocsicnarF yaB ailartsuA ailartsuA .aerA 91
.gninniw erehw hguorht yeht taht dias delppir yalp sehctam tpek fi dluoc lla ASU maeT ollegaP
oS“ ecnO“ ruoy uoy dluow tahw saw eht eht eht ekips ,tes ees dnoces .dias yllaer snoitisop noitisop ecalp rehto fo hctam dekcol si ni ni ni eh dah tsrif tsrif neve tekcarb gib ”,eb sa osla lla a ASU elttaeS yluJ puorG ”.D )6 no(
htiw .llew elbisiv pu ,tnemanruot ot tekcit hguorht eht eht eht eht dauqs tohs dnuor tser secirp laitnetop htap no no fo fo fo sehctam hctam ti gnidulcni ni yletaidemmi detnemec yb neeb taeb sa gnidrocca a dlroW nehW .moc.atadtekciT s’tahT elaseR del-isseM lenoiL enuJ yluJ nadroJ puC s’atnaltA atnaltA anitnegrA aireglA .7 ,22 61 ,003$
Argentina’s Lionel Messi (left) celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match against Austria in Arlington, Texas on Monday, June 22, 2026. (Julio Cortez/AP)
ytilitalov ot esoht gnorts emos ecnis gniwohs dias .sniamer gniniamer dedecer desiop no fo ,sehctam sehctam lanoitanretni evah evah morf .snaf citsemod dnamed htob era dna buHbutS secirP s’atnaltA
s’tI“ tA“ htiw levart ,emit eht eht eht eht eht eht eht gnidnuorrus .tnemetats ylprahs ”.tes emas dias sdnuor gniyfilauq gnimlehwrevo ecno fo fo snoitan tsom tekram ytirojam tuokconk si lanoitanretni ni ni ni morf morf snaf citsemod dnamed gnimoc sbmilc sreyub tekcarb koob sa dna a dlroW ,.S.U buHbutS ”,tsaehtuoS aigroeG puC atnaltA
nehw etisbew pu tekcit eht eht taht gnillet elaser spuhctam gnitekram tekram reganam staeh rof .dezilanif latigid era ,deerga ,obmociT oiraM ,adeñatsaC CJA
emoS“ skrow lliw elihw ot stekcit ”,meht rieht eht maet dias lleser srehto ro on deen yam hctam gnikool regnol noitacol etunim-tsal si ni fi fi eh rof rof snaf .liame detanimile eb na ,ssecca
sa“ lliw erehw ytniatrecnu levart tnemanruot gnitekcit eht taht secirp ylno ecno sevom erom spuhctam ,sehctam gnikam ylekil tuokconk otni sekats-rehgih egats-puorg teg morf retsaf snaf evisnepxe snoisiced ”.reraelc nigeb emoceb dna dedda eH
Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He’s been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people’s lives.
