Empty sections in stadiums across the opening days of the 2026 FIFA World Cup have sparked questions about attendance, despite FIFA‘s insistence that the tournament is drawing record demand and near-capacity crowds.
Several early group-stage matches, including Canada‘s 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina, featured noticeable gaps in the stands even as official attendance figures suggested the venues were close to full.
The discrepancy between the numbers and what fans could see on television has prompted FIFA to publicly defend its attendance reporting.
“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 said in a statement posted to X.
Newsweek has reached out to FIFA for further comment.
Where Have Empty Seats Been Most Noticeable?
Before the tournament kicked off on June 11, FIFA repeatedly highlighted what it described as unprecedented demand for tickets.
“We sold until today over 6 million tickets,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said during a press conference on Wednesday, adding that demand had been “unprecedented…by a factor of 10 or more.”
FIFA also said the tournament was on track to set “new benchmarks for attendance and global engagement.”
Analysis by The Athletic found that FIFA’s official attendance figures and stadium-capacity estimates suggested just 1,574 seats were left unfilled across the tournament’s first six matches.
Yet television broadcasts and photographs from several venues appeared to tell a different story, with visible pockets of empty seats attracting attention online.
Alongside Canada’s opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar‘s 1-1 draw with Switzerland on Saturday was another match where empty sections were clearly visible. Despite that, attendance was reported at 67,966—just shy of the venue’s official capacity of 68,827, according to The Athletic.
Similar scenes were reported in Zapopan, near Guadalajara, Mexico, where South Korea‘s 2-1 win over Czechia appeared to feature numerous vacant seats, despite an announced crowd of 44,985 at a stadium with a listed capacity of 45,664.
Why Do Stadiums Look Less Full Than Reported?
FIFA addressed the issue after the South Korea-Czechia match, saying it works closely with stadium authorities and ticketing teams to verify attendance figures.
The organization also suggested that visual impressions can be misleading because spectators frequently move around stadiums during games.
“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,” FIFA said.
Questions over attendance are not unique to this year’s tournament. Similar concerns emerged during the World Cups in Brazil in 2014 and Qatar in 2022.
FIFA largely attributed visible empty seats to ticket holders who purchased tickets but did not attend. Critics, however, argued that “no-shows” alone did not fully explain the scale of some empty sections.
And in the lead-up to this year’s competition, organizers faced criticism for dampening fan demand with high ticket prices, as well as selectively distributing tickets across the resale marketplace to ensure these do not go unused.
Data shared with Newsweek and published on TicketData.com showed that many tickets were still available the day before the competition commenced, with roughly 25,000 tickets sold directly by FIFA and more than 170,000 listed on the resale marketplace.
FIFA has said additional tickets will continue to be released throughout the tournament. Thousands also remain available through the organization’s official resale platform for upcoming fixtures, including Switzerland vs. Canada on June 24.
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