FIFA attributed empty seats at a World Cup match in Guadalajara to fans watching from concourses, despite an announced attendance of 44,985. Similar issues were noted at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.
The discrepancy between announced attendance and visible occupancy raises questions about FIFA's reporting and ticketing strategies, potentially impacting fan perception and future event planning.
FIFA has attributed the visible empty seats at a World Cup match between South Korea and the Czech Republic in Guadalajara to fans who chose to stand in concourses rather than occupy their assigned seats. The governing body of world soccer stated that official attendance figures are based on scanned tickets and verified operational data, not visual assessments of occupancy during the match.
Despite the official attendance of 44,985, including FIFA President Gianni Infantino, many unoccupied spaces were evident in the Guadalajara Stadium, which has a capacity of 45,664. Similar, though less pronounced, empty seats were also noted at a match in Toronto, which had an announced attendance of 43,002 against its capacity of 43,036.
Thousands of empty seats were also scattered throughout Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara for the World Cup match between Qatar and Switzerland. On an unseasonably warm June afternoon, many of those vacant seats were on the east side of the stadium. Swiss fans clad in bright red blended in with the empty red seats.
FIFA has faced criticism for record-high ticket prices for this year's World Cup, with prices reportedly reaching five figures. Infantino defended these prices as appropriate for the North American market. For NFL games at Levi’s Stadium, crowds are often late arriving due to tailgating, but this is not allowed for World Cup matches, leading to smooth entry on Saturday.