World Cup 2026: Fifa claims followers staying on concourses are cause for empty seats
Fifa says quite a few empty seats have been seen within the near-sell-out Group A match between South Korea and the Czech Republic due to followers remaining on concourses.
Soccer’s world governing physique introduced an attendance of 44,985 on the 46,000-seat Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, resulting in accusations they exaggerated the variety of individuals within the stadium.
The discrepancy adopted pre-tournament criticism of ticket pricing and questions over demand for quite a few matches within the expanded 48-team World Cup.
“Official attendance figures mirror the variety of tickets scanned and spectators current throughout the stadium footprint, relatively than visible assessments of seating occupancy at any given second throughout the match,” Fifa stated.
“Fifa works carefully with stadium authorities and ticketing groups to make sure all printed figures are based mostly on verified operational information.
“Please observe that, throughout final night time’s match in Guadalajara, a number of ticketed followers may very well be seen standing in concourses relatively than staying of their assigned seats all through the match.”
The organisers additionally issued an image displaying a principally full stadium.
