A Reddit community has built its own AI-powered ticketing infrastructure to combat high prices and scalpers ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with tools developed using AI coding assistants now reaching hundreds of thousands of users.
The r/WorldCup2026Tickets subreddit, which has grown to more than 140,000 members, has become a hub for fans tracking ticket availability and price movements on FIFA’s official marketplace. Members share real-time data on ticket drops, coordinate on pricing strategy, and use DIY tools to surface cheaper seats — in some cases undercutting scalpers in the process.
The most prominent tool, SeatSidekick, was built in five days by Luke, a Chicago-based community member, using Claude Code. Launched on April 18, 2026, the site scans the backend of FIFA’s ticketing platform to display near-live seat availability sorted by price, along with trend data and alerts. Within a month, it had drawn 178,000 unique visitors and over one million pageviews.
The community’s frustration stems from FIFA’s ticketing setup, which features dynamic pricing, an opaque inventory release process, and uncapped resale listings — one ticket to the July 19 final is listed at $11.5 million. FIFA collects a 30 percent commission on each resale transaction, split evenly between buyer and seller. On May 27, 2026, the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey subpoenaed FIFA as part of an investigation into its ticketing practices.
As marquee game prices have begun to fall — France vs. Senegal’s get-in price dropped roughly 25 percent over two weeks in May to around $450 — members have adopted a “HOLD” strategy, encouraging others to wait out further price drops, echoing the 2021 GameStop movement on r/WallStreetBets.
The tools are also being used to flag inflated listings. When a seller posts tickets at a steep markup, other members cite SeatSidekick data showing lower prices in the same section, helping fans avoid overpaying to private resellers.
Source: WIRED