FIFA slammed for ‘embarrassing’ response to empty seats at World Cup

Some called it ‘laughable’

Mexico secured a convincing 2-0 win over South Africa, in a repeat of the 2010 World Cup opener, while United States thrashed Paraguay in a 4-1 win.

However, for those watching the competition so far, including those who stay up late or wake up early enough not to miss any of the games, one thing that has been apparent is the empty seats at some stadiums.

Many fans haven’t been able to get to the games considering the prices of tickets have reached unprecedented costs, while some others have been prevented from entering the US due to visa issues.

In the second game of the tournament, that between South Korea and Czechia game, it was no surprise that there were large gaps in the crowd throughout the stadium.

As FIFA have come in for heavy criticism, they have addressed the situation in an online statement.

FIFA said only “several ticketed fans” were missing

As per the official statement, the tickets had been sold and the stadium only looked empty as “several ticketed fans” were not in their seats but in the concourses during their game.

“Official attendance figures reflect the number of tickets scanned and spectators present within the stadium footprint, rather than visual assessments of seating occupancy at any given moment during the match”, it said in the statement.

“FIFA works closely with stadium authorities and ticketing teams to ensure all published figures are based on verified operational data. Please note that, during last night’s match in Guadalajara, several ticketed fans could be seen standing in concourses rather than staying in their assigned seats throughout the match”, the statement continued.

Many fans online found the excuse that the stadium looked empty due to a few fans going to the concourses “laughable”.

According to a report by The Athletic, “there were swathes of empty seats at the Akron Stadium, situated on the city’s eastern edge. These were particularly concentrated towards the pitchside VIP section at the centre of the east stand, but patches of red seats could be seen throughout — leaving what looked like thousands of empty seats in total.”

While FIFA claimed that the official attendance for South Korea 2-1 Czechia was 44,985, which is just under the official stadium capacity for the tournament of 45,664, the images and reporting suggest there were far more than 679 empty seats.

The real cause for the empty seats are most likely the price of tickets, as tickets in the lower tier cost $500, while those on the sidelines at the top of the stadium’s bowl were priced at $400.

The biggest gaps in the stadium appeared to be in the hospitality seating area, with tickets costing over $5000 if purchased by supporters, rather than given away by corporate sponsors.