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FIFA says it has received more than 500 million ticket requests for 2026 World Cup

By The Associated Press

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — FIFA said Wednesday it has received more than 500 million ticket requests for this year’s World Cup.

Soccer’s organizing body said outside the host United States, Mexico and Canada, the most requests were made by fans residing in Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Colombia.

FIFA is asking for up to $8,680 per ticket. After criticism, FIFA said last month it will offer $60 tickets for every game to the 48 national federations in the tournament, and the federations will decide how to distribute them to their fans who attended their previous games.

It said the most-requested match in the third sales phase, which ran from Dec. 11 through Tuesday, was Colombia vs. Portugal on June 27 at Miami Gardens, Florida; followed by Mexico vs. South Korea on June 18 at Guadalajara, Mexico; the final on July 19 at East Rutherford, New Jersey; the opener between Mexico and South Africa on June 11 at Mexico City; and a second-round match on July 2 at Toronto.

FIFA said it will notify people about their ticket applications no earlier than Feb. 5 and will allocate them randomly for matches in which demand exceeds availability.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Massachusetts court hears arguments in lawsuit alleging Meta designed apps to be addictive to kids

By The Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts' highest court heard oral arguments Friday in the state's lawsuit arguing that Meta designed features on Facebook and Instagram to make them addictive to young users. The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, alleges that Meta did this to make a profit and that its actions affected hundreds of thousands of teenagers in Massachusetts who use the social media platforms. “We are making claims based only on the tools that Meta has developed because its own research shows they encourage addiction to the platform in a variety of ways,” said State Solicitor David Kravitz, adding that the state's claim has nothing to do the company's algorithms or failure to moderate content. Meta said Friday that it strongly disagrees with the allegations and is “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.” Its attorney, Mark Mosier, argued in court that the lawsuit “would impose liabilities for performing traditional publishing functions” and that its actions are protected by the First Amendment.
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