President Gianni Infantino was in the crowd for South Korea’s 2-1 victory over Czechia at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico, as TV cameras captured row upon row of empty seats
FIFA faced the humiliating sight of rows of empty seats at the second game of the World Cup as fans blamed sky-high ticket prices.
President Gianni Infantino was in the crowd for South Korea’s 2-1 victory over Czechia at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico. TV cameras captured row upon row of empty seats; images that were beamed to football fans around the world.
To add to the embarrassment, the attendance was announced as 44,985, making it just 679 short of the 45,664 capacity, even though seats throughout the stadium stood empty; not just in the most expensive sections.
FIFA has been criticised for its ‘varying pricing’ ticket policy which “artificially inflated prices” and “misled fans”. England supporter Garford Beck, 64, of London, who is following the team in the US, said the empty seats did not surprise him.
“I think there will be more to come and FIFA is getting what it deserves,” he told the Mirror while traveling with fellow fans in Orlando. “For Democratic Republic of Congo fans, the cost of one World Cup ticket is the equivalent of their average wage for about 16 years.
“The prices are ridiculous, so I think there will be more empty seats in games involving smaller nations. We watched the match here and the empty seats were really noticeable so that is being seen around the world.”
Fuming fans also took to social media. One wrote: “The number of empty seats is simply insane. Very poor from Fifa.” Another added: “Literally on day one of the World Cup there are lots of empty seats. The resale shenanigans didn’t turn out so good, eh? That’s what happens when you drive prices up to the point of insanity.”
A third worried fan posted: “First time in my life I’m seeing this many empty seats at a World Cup game. Is this going to be the worst World Cup ever?”
Football Supporters Europe (FSE) warned ticket prices jumped fivefold compared to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. It warned that local fans and traveling international supporters had been completely priced out of attending.
Online resale platforms were full of listings as fans try to offload tickets in the face of skyrocketing travel and accommodation costs.
The row over ticket pricing came as violence marred the opening match. Hooded protesters hurled petrol bombs at riot police shortly after Mexico’s 2-0 victory against South Africa.
Molotov cocktails exploded outside the iconic Estadio Azteca, re-named Mexico Stadium for the tournament. There were demonstrations before and after the game, which turned to violence.
One female officer needed emergency treatment for a badly cut head, and up to 1,000 protesters were involved in the violence. Speaking before the game, Infantino defended the FIFA pricing structure as “accurate” for the North American market, insisting that demand had been “unprecedented by a factor of 10 or more”.
FIFA sold 6 million tickets for the tournament, and demand had exceeded expectations by “a factor of 10 or more,” he said. “Our entry price, which is $60, is the lowest entry price of any of the American sports in the playoff phases,” Infantino said.
Football Supporters Europe filed a complaint with the European Commission in March, accusing FIFA of shutting ordinary fans out of the tournament by imposing “sky-high” prices that far exceed those at previous World Cup events. It has also said that the $60 tickets FIFA is advertising “barely existed” and were snatched up before general public sales opened.
Last month, the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey issued a subpoena to FIFA over its ticketing, citing media reports that fans may have been misled about seat locations and suggested FIFA statements and ticket releases may have contributed to soaring prices.
President Donald Trump blasted high World Cup ticket prices in an interview with the New York Post last month. Tens of thousands of tickets have been available on resale sites, leading to claims that FIFA may have released them in a desperate bid to fill the grounds.
The biggest empty areas at the South Korea game were mostly in the ‘VIP’ sections closest to the pitch, where a general admission ticket was about $400 (£298). For the United States’ opening fixture against Paraguay – one of the tournament’s most eagerly awaited matches – more than 4,400 seats remained unsold through official channels.
The cheapest tickets would still cost $1,120 (£835) directly from FIFA, with the median resale price sitting above $800 (£597), even after a 20 per cent drop in prices over the previous month. Fans slammed FIFA’s decision to adopt variable pricing, a model like “dynamic pricing”, for the first time at a World Cup. Prices for 90 of the 104 matches climbed by an average of 34 per cent between October 2025 and April 2026.
The cheapest standard ticket to the final reached $5,785 (£4,315). The priciest seats hit $10,990 before later tripling once more.
Final tickets on the resale market were at one stage listed at close to $33,000. One fan wrote FIFA had ‘priced out all the regular match going fans’ with “extortionate ticket prices”.
They added: “Accommodation price increases, domestic travel up almost 10-fold, plus general holiday expenses (food, drink, tourism) made it completely impossible for the working man to go.”
FIFA defended its policy as one widely used in the United States and stressed all profits went back into the game.
