Image used to illustrate fact check. Photo Source: Vector.
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Claim: Facebook and X users claim that 16,800 people have cancelled their 2026 FIFA World Cup tickets because of Donald Trump.
Verdict: False! FIFA’s policy does not permit ticket cancellation after purchase, and there is no evidence to support the claim that 16,800 people cancelled their tickets.
Full Text
The FIFA World Cup is less than five months away, with the tournament scheduled to kick off on June 11, 2026, across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
As anticipation builds, a claim has emerged on Facebook and X (archived here and here) that 16,800 people have cancelled their World Cup tickets. The claimants attributed the cause of this “mass cancellation” to the US president by adding Donald Trump’s image side by side with a trophy under the claim.
This claim has since gone viral on both platforms, with some users expressing excitement about the development and others questioning it.
For example, Akash Maniam wrote, “Well, nobody wants to dump their entire savings to watch their team only to get deported to El Salvador by ICE.”
On the other hand, Brett-Ben Raphael said, “Fake, false, unsubstantiated, but so many twats will retweet and think it’s true.”
Since it is not uncommon for misinformation to spread around significant events such as the ‘26 World Cup, DUBAWA decided to set the record straight with this fact check.
Verification
We traced the origin of this claim to Jan. 7, 2026, when some social media users with large followings launched a campaign to boycott the World Cup. As seen in various posts below, their reasons revolve around safety concerns and displeasure with the current political climate in the United States.
On Jan. 9, 2026, the boycott campaign changed to the claim that 19,800 people have cancelled their tickets. DUBAWA, however, found no official evidence to support this assertion. Likewise, neither FIFA nor the United States has made any statement in that regard. Given the significance of the 2026 World Cup, such a change would have been widely reported by international media outlets; yet, DUBAWA found no such reports.
Contrary to the claim, the 2026 World Cup has reportedly seen increased ticket demand. As of January, FIFA recorded 150 million ticket requests, prompting it to resort to a Random Selection Draw to determine who could buy.
Can you cancel your World Cup ticket after you purchase it?
We reviewed FIFA’s 2026 World Cup ticket cancellation and refund policy. Our findings revealed that FIFA did not provide a room for cancellation after a ticket had been successfully purchased.
“All ticket purchases on the ticketing website are final. You cannot elect to cancel a purchase or return any tickets to FIFA ticketing for any reason after your payment for the ticket has been successfully processed, including for any reasons outside your control. No refunds or exchanges are permitted except in limited circumstances as provided in the terms of sale,” FIFA wrote in its policy.
Refunds are only available where FIFA cancels a person’s ticket or the match. For example, when a game is cancelled and not rescheduled, or when a stadium relocation or match date is changed. Personal reasons, such as a change of mind, inability to travel, visa or funding problems, do not qualify for a refund. Changes to non-core details, such as kick-off time, do not entitle participants to cancel or receive a refund.
We found the same explanation on FIFA’s frequently asked questions page as highlighted here.
Conclusion
The claim that 16,800 people cancelled their 2026 World Cup tickets is false. FIFA’s policy does not permit ticket cancellations after purchase, and there is no evidence to support the claim of mass cancellations.
