World Cup opens with "thousands" of empty seats in Guadalajara
Article excerpt
The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off in Guadalajara to thousands of empty seats, raising immediate questions about attendance levels for the tournament. Organizers and fans are watching closely as matches begin across Mexico, with preliminary games showing noticeable gaps in stadiums that were expected to draw capacity crowds. The sparse attendance marks an unexpected start for one of soccer's biggest events, occurring despite pre-tournament projections of strong ticket sales and fan interest. Officials have not yet addressed the shortfall publicly, though the visible empty sections have already become a talking point among observers and media covering the games.
The World Cup has begun, and attendance has become a point of curiosity.
Via Jacob Whitehead of The Athletic, Thursday night's match between South Korea and the Czech Republic had "large sections of empty seats" at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara.
Even though it's the second smallest of 16 stadiums that will host games across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, Whitehead writes that "there appeared to be thousands of unoccupied seats."
Tickets to the game costs $500 for the lower tier and $400 for the upper bowl.
FIFA announced the official attendance as 44,985. The stadium has a capacity of 45,644.
Said FIFA in a statement to The Athletic: “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. 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."
In other words, don't trust your lying eyes.