FIFA is turning to blockchain technology to restore trust in ticket authenticity and improve the buying process for fans, with the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon. Its official digital collectibles platform, FIFA Collect, now records ownership of certain ticketing-related assets on-chain, aiming to verify authenticity and track who holds what.
How the system works
FIFA Collect operates on its own custom Layer-1 network called the FIFA Blockchain, built with Avalanche technology and compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The platform offers two types of tradable digital collectibles: Right-to-Buy (RTB) and Right-to-Ticket (RTT) assets. Holders of these assets receive priority access to purchase official ticketing for the 2026 World Cup.
Importantly, RTBs and RTTs are not entry tickets themselves. They grant the right to buy a ticket, not the right to enter the stadium. Fans must still 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, with ownership history recorded on the blockchain.
The numbers behind the experiment
As of mid-2026, the platform has issued more than 100,000 RTBs and 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 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 other applications 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. This 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.
