Football fans who thought they'd landed the deal of a lifetime are now facing a tough choice after FIFA cancelled their free World Cup tickets.
Around 60 supporters managed to secure seats for the 2026 tournament at absolutely no cost thanks to a website glitch on 21 May.
But the celebration didn't last long.
FIFA contacted the affected fans on Wednesday, confirming the bookings had been scrapped due to a payment-processing error during checkout.
Fifa's glitch saw tickets sold for nothing but they have since cancelled them or told fans to pay full price
|GETTY
"FIFA regrets the error and any inconvenience caused," the governing body said in a statement.
Those lucky enough to bag the $0 tickets now have just seven days to pay the full price or lose their seats entirely.
The glitch struck during a routine checkout process on FIFA's official ticketing platform, affecting a small batch of group-stage matches scheduled for Toronto.
Rather than any hacking or security breach, FIFA confirmed the issue stemmed from an internal technical fault that allowed transactions to skip the final payment step altogether.
The World Cup takes place in America, Mexico and Canada this year | PAFans completed their purchases, received confirmation emails, and genuinely believed they'd secured their spots at the tournament.
It was only later that FIFA spotted the problem and began reversing the transactions.
The governing body has since reserved the same seats for affected customers, but they'll need to cough up the correct amount within the week-long deadline.
Supporters haven't held back their frustration on social media.
"Gianni please step down," one fan wrote, calling out the FIFA president directly.
Another added: "FIFA really are the worst, too much power with no accountability to anyone."
The timing couldn't be worse, with the tournament kicking off on 11 June and fans left scrambling just days before matches begin.
This latest blunder has only fuelled existing anger over FIFA's ticketing system, which has already drawn criticism for lengthy virtual queues, confusing availability updates, and dynamic pricing that's pushed some match tickets into the thousands of dollars.
The World Cup features an expanded format with 48 teams divided into 12 groups of four | GETTYThe free ticket fiasco adds to mounting concerns about affordability at this summer's World Cup.
Back in April, FIFA's official resale platform made headlines when four seats for the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey appeared with eye-watering price tags of nearly $2.3 million each.
The pricing strategy for the tournament across the United States, Canada and Mexico has faced widespread criticism from fans worldwide.
Even US President Donald Trump weighed in, claiming he wouldn't pay the extortionate prices to watch his nation's opening match against Paraguay.
US state authorities in New York, New Jersey and California are now examining FIFA's pricing transparency and ticketing practices.