Woman struggles to find accessible World Cup tickets for her terminally ill husband

Woman struggles to find accessible World Cup tickets for her terminally ill husband

Disability advocates in B.C. are concerned by FIFA’s approach to accessible seating

Melissa Stevens has raised more than $5,000 to take her terminally ill husband to a FIFA World Cup match in Vancouver. But with the tournament already underway at B.C. Place, the Langley woman says she still hasn’t been able to get wheelchair-accessible tickets.

Her husband, Carlo Sutton, was diagnosed in June 2025 with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease that affects motor neurons, which are cells in the brain and spinal cord that control movement.

As the disease progresses, people with ALS lose the ability to walk, talk, swallow and breathe.

“Everything kind of came up abruptly for us,” says Melissa. “My husband was a huge competitive soccer player his entire life."

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Sutton’s birthday is on June 29 and Stevens hopes to take him to see a World Cup match at B.C. Place, which she says would be a perfect gift for her soccer-loving spouse.

But she says FIFA’s process for purchasing accessible tickets has been "super frustrating."

“Pretty much wherever you try to go to get the ticket, it just reverts you back to this form,” Stevens said.

She says she filled out FIFA’s accessible ticket request form several times but has not received a response.

“It’s unfortunately very simple if you want to go in and buy a ticket for anybody else but if you’re in a wheelchair, it's very difficult.”

Stevens is not the only one having trouble purchasing accessible tickets.

Burnaby resident Michael Rosetti, who has cerebral palsy, told CBC News by email that he uses a wheelchair and requires help from his wife to get around a busy stadium environment.

The 47-year-old said he was able to get two tickets, one for himself and an attendant ticket for his wife to the Australia-Turkey match at B.C. Place.

"I felt relieved, then realized they are rows apart," he wrote.

Rosetti asked ticketing services to move his wife closer, but was told there were no adjacent seats available.

FIFA’s customer support website says companions will be seated as close as possible to an accessible ticket holder but the exact seat locations cannot be guaranteed and adjacent seating may not always be possible.

Rosetti said that made the match “unattendable” because he needs another person with him for medical support, navigation and "things like opening drinks due to limited hand movement."

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Michelle Hewitt, chair of non-profit Disability Without Poverty, says that is why companion seating should not be treated like an ordinary ticket.

“I’m not taking that companion just because I want to have companionship,” said Hewitt, who uses a wheelchair and is also a soccer fan. “I’m taking a care assistant. It’s a necessary accommodation for my disability.”

Hewitt said she decided not to attend World Cup matches because she would have had to pay full ticket price for her companion.

“When I fly, the companion travels for free, other than I pay the taxes on that seat,” she said.

CBC News confirmed that on Air Canada flights within Canada and the continental U.S., eligible customers who require a support person pay only fees and taxes for that support person’s seat.

Advocates question FIFA’s approach

Jocelyn Maffin, associate director for service delivery at Spinal Cord Injury B.C., says the process for accessible FIFA tickets has been confusing.

“It has been extremely unclear how accessible tickets are made available to the people who need them,” she said.

Maffin said she is concerned there was no clear plan to make sure accessible seats went to people with disabilities who could not use standard seating.

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CBC News found several Reddit posts from people who said they accidentally purchased wheelchair or accessible seating online for FIFA matches.

One local sports venue says it handles accessible tickets differently.

A spokesperson for the Vancouver Canadians, who play at Nat Bailey Stadium, said accessible seats are only sold by phone or in-person to help prevent accidental online purchases by people who do not need them.

Stevens says she stopped working in December last year because her husband required around-the-clock care and since then they have been relying on support from family, friends and employment insurance.

This month, Stevens fundraised about $5,650 so they could buy FIFA tickets.

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With no response from FIFA, Melissa checked the resale marketplace for wheelchair-accessible tickets to Canada’s June 24 match against Switzerland.

She said some tickets originally listed at $640 were being resold for $2,500 each. With taxes and fees, two tickets would have cost $5,750, which she described as "absolute robbery."

Stevens found cheaper accessible tickets for matches in Seattle, but said such travel wouldn't be feasible.

B.C. Place says 'more work' needed

A spokesperson for B.C. Place, the 54,000-seat arena where games are being held, told CBC News that the stadium has "225 accessible and companion seats throughout the lower and upper bowl" though availability can vary depending on event layout and staging.

Advocate Hewitt says that just doesn’t reflect the number of people who need accessible seating.

"27 per cent of the population [in Canada] is currently disabled," she said.

The stadium said companion or attendant seats are currently sold at regular ticket price.

“While B.C. Place does not set ticket prices for events, we understand that the current approach does not always meet the needs or expectations of guests who require attendant support, and that there is more work to do in this area,” the statement said.

In a statement, FIFA said accessible tickets have been on sale since September 2025 and that more than 30,000 such tickets have been sold so far.

The federation says it encourages fans to keep checking the primary ticket and resale marketplace but did not explain why multiple requests from Stevens went unanswered.

It says it will refer the issue to its customer care team so they can see what additional support could be provided.

For Stevens though the question still remains: why does accessible seating appear so limited?

“I don’t know if they think it’s going to ruin the atmosphere,” she said. “Because let me tell you, [Carlo] cares about the sport as much as or probably more than anybody in that place."