FIFA Collect uses blockchain to curb World Cup ticket scalping

FIFA wants fans to trust their tickets again, and it is using a blockchain to do it.

FIFA Collect, the governing body’s official digital collectibles platform, is pitching on-chain records as a way to verify ticket authenticity, track who owns what, and smooth out the buying process for sports fans. The timing matters: the 2026 FIFA World Cup is approaching, and demand for seats at football’s biggest event is famously intense.

How the system actually works

FIFA Collect now runs on its own custom Layer-1 network, called the FIFA Blockchain. It is built with Avalanche technology and is EVM-compatible.

The platform’s core products are two types of tradable digital collectibles. They are called Right-to-Buy (RTB) and Right-to-Ticket (RTT) assets.

Holders of these assets get priority access to purchase official ticketing for the 2026 World Cup.

There is an important catch. RTBs and RTTs are not entry tickets themselves. They grant the right to buy a ticket, not the right to walk through the stadium gates. A fan still has to redeem that priority access and complete an official purchase.

Because the assets live on-chain, they can be traded on a secondary market before redemption. Ownership history is recorded on the blockchain, which is where the authenticity pitch comes from.

The numbers behind the experiment

As of mid-2026, the platform has issued more than 100,000 RTBs. It has also issued more than 50,000 Club World Cup tickets.

Secondary-market trading volume for RTB and RTT collectibles has exceeded $25 million by mid-2026.

FIFA takes a cut of that activity. The organization collects a resale fee on secondary trades, reported to range between 5% and 15%.

From Algorand to Avalanche

FIFA Collect did not start on its current infrastructure. The platform migrated to the Avalanche blockchain in June 2025, moving away from Algorand. That shift eventually produced the dedicated FIFA Blockchain, operated by Modex on FIFA’s behalf.

Rather than sharing block space with every other application on a public network, FIFA now operates a chain tailored to its own collectibles and ticketing use case. EVM compatibility means existing wallets and developer tools can work with it.

Why ticket authenticity is the selling point

Each RTB or RTT has a verifiable ownership trail, so a buyer can check that the asset exists and that the seller actually holds it. It replaces a screenshot and a handshake with a ledger entry anyone can inspect.

It also gives FIFA visibility into secondary trading that would otherwise happen in unofficial channels. Instead of resale value leaking out to third parties, a portion flows back through the platform’s fee structure.

What this means for fans, FIFA, and crypto

For fans, the distinction between a right and an actual ticket deserves attention. Buyers on the secondary market should understand they are purchasing priority access, not guaranteed entry, and still face a separate official purchase step.

For FIFA, the economics look attractive. A reported 5% to 15% resale fee on more than $25 million in secondary volume turns fan enthusiasm into an ongoing revenue stream.

The real stress test arrives when hundreds of thousands of fans try to cash in their rights at once. A ledger can prove who owns a token, but it cannot add seats to a stadium.