Sports
Legal inquiries into FIFA's ticket practices won't end when World Cup does
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport of New Jersey said her investigation into World Cup ticketing practices will go on. While the 2026 World Cup officially comes to a close on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., the attorney general of New Jersey won’t stop her investigation into FIFA and its ticketing methods when the final whistle sounds.
In a report published Friday, New Jersey AG Jennifer Davenport told The Athletic that her office will continue to look at concerns that she and her New York counterpart, Letitia James, raised in May about the ways FIFA conducted the ticket-buying process for the eight matches hosted at MetLife Stadium during the 39-day tournament.
Those eight matches include the Sunday final, which pits Argentina against Spain.
In a joint news release issued in May, the attorneys general said they were looking into reports that FIFA allegedly hiked prices, changed ticketing maps after selling tickets to the public and created artificial scarcity.
Davenport addressed her continuing mission to protect consumers with The Athletic.
“For the initial ticket sales, FIFA seat maps divided the stadium into four zones, categories one through four,” Davenport said. “The category one seats were the most desirable. But after fans had already bought tickets, FIFA created new zones, which included a front row in a category, made up of the most desirable seats within the categories.
“We saw the reports indicating that there were fans who bought the tickets before these new zones were introduced but were then excluded from the seats and instead assigned less desirable seats. We also saw reports that some fans didn’t receive the tickets in the category they paid for.”
New Jersey and New York aren’t the only places where FIFA’s ticketing practices have come under fire. Officials in California and Texas also have been investigating claims regarding the 2026 World Cup.
In Frankfurt, Germany, on Tuesday, a court called FIFA’s practices on ticket resale outlet Ticombo “manipulative” and issued an injunction designed to force FIFA to stop selling tickets there. Per Newsweek, the court threatened to fine and/or imprison FIFA president Gianni Infantino and secretary general Mattias Grafstrom if they do not comply.
–Field Level Media
Sports
World Cup final tickets soar above $7,500
Spain fans before their semifinal match on June 14, 2026. Tickets for the 2026 World Cup final continue to rise leading up to Sunday’s match between Argentina and Spain at New York New Jersey Stadium.
After the get-in price dropped as low as $6,636 on Monday, the three-day average rebounded to $7,612 by Friday morning, according to ticket-tracking service TicketData.com. The three-day average is now up 10%.
By comparison, the get-in price for Argentina’s semifinal victory over England settled at $3,177 by kickoff, while France’s win over Spain commanded less than half that at $1,315.
The get-in price for Saturday’s third-place match between France and England in Miami is $653, having plummeted 61% over the past three days.
Sunday’s final will kick off at 3 p.m. ET in East Rutherford, N.J., between a pair of global powerhouses. It will conclude the largest World Cup in history, with the White House confirming that President Donald Trump will attend.
The get-in price for tickets to the final peaked at $13,650 back in October before dipping as low as $6,336 a month later. They had risen back to above $8,000 when the tournament began on June 11 and the get-in price reached $12,129 on June 23 before declining again.
Through 102 matches across 16 cities, the median get-in price has been $916.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lucas Herbert rides 62 to Open lead midway through 2nd round
Jul 17, 2026; Southport, ENG; Lucas Herbert lines up a putt on the 18th green during the second round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale. Lucas Herbert leads the Open Championship halfway through the second round after tying the major championship record of 62 Friday at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England.
The Australian needed par at No. 18 to shoot the first 61 in major championship history, but his 5-foot putt to save par missed centimeters to the left of the cup.
The round brought him from even to 8-under-par 132 for the championship, two clear of Cameron Young (67) and first-round leader Jackson Suber (69).
And Herbert’s round wasn’t even the only 62 of the morning wave. Two groups behind him, Sam Burns holed out for birdie from the greenside bunker at No. 18 to cap a three-birdie finish for a bogey-free 62.
Burns shot up to 5 under for the week. South Korea’s Sungjae Im was also 5 under for the championship through the front nine. Bud Cauley (68) and England’s Matt Wallace (67) were in the clubhouse at 4-under 136.
Herbert, 30, was asked when he believed he could equal or better the record of 62.
“It’s not a great question because I’m too much of an optimist, and I thought it when I hit it to about 5 feet on the third hole,” Herbert said. “I’m a golf nerd anyway, so I know all the numbers, all the records, everything like that.”
Branden Grace of South Africa shot the first round of 62 at a major nine years ago, the last time The Open was held at Royal Birkdale. The list has since grown to seven 62s, including Herbert’s and Burns’ on Friday.
Burns’ 62 was a mirror image of Herbert’s. Whereas the Australian tied the major nine-hole scoring record with a 28 on the front nine, Burns went out in 2 under and made six birdies coming in — including a chip-in at No. 16 before the bunker holeout at No. 18.
“Yeah, it was in a good spot in the bunker, which you never know what you’re going to get in the pot bunkers here. So I was happy when I saw that when I walked up,” Burns said. “It was a tricky bunker shot because I had to land it in the fringe there and use the slope down to the hole. Definitely very lucky for it to go in.”
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland improved on his opening 72 by five strokes, but left opportunities on the table with eight pars and one birdie on his back nine. His 67 lifted him to 1 under for the week.
Xander Schauffele rebounded from a bogey at No. 17 with a straightforward birdie at No. 18 to shoot 69 and head to the clubhouse on the current cut line at even par. The line is projected to move back by at least one shot. Schauffele’s run of 18 straight made cuts at major championships is the longest active streak.
Notables playing in the Friday afternoon wave include World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose, Spaniard Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, who briefly held a share of the lead Thursday before carding a 3-under 67.
–Field Level Media
Sports
World Cup champions to receive rings for first time
July 15, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.; Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates after the match. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Borrowing from an American sporting tradition, the winners of the World Cup will earn an extra prize this year: A championship ring — the first one awarded in World Cup history.
The players from either Argentina or Spain also will receive the traditional gold medals. The championship match is set for 3 p.m. ET Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
FIFA announced the distribution of the “bespoke” rings and said in a statement that the gesture is “bringing one of the most recognisable American sporting traditions to the global game.”
The rings already have been designed to display the World Cup trophy on one side, with the other side to be customized for the winning team. After the final on Sunday, the head coach and captain of the winning team will be given a temporary ring to be replaced after the final ring is designed and created. The rest of the team will be presented with rings at a later date.
Only 2,026 numbered rings will be created, with 30 given to the winning team. The remainder will be sold to the public, with the price not announced.
If Argentina wins Sunday, they will become the first country to capture back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1962. Spain have won once, in 2010.
England and France play Saturday to determine the third-place finisher.
–Field Level Media
World Cup final tickets soar above $7,500
Lucas Herbert rides 62 to Open lead midway through 2nd round
