The World Cup started with Mexico vs. South Africa and South Korea vs. Czech Republic, but it may have been the latter that FIFA has concerns about the tournament.
There were hundreds, if not thousands, of empty seats (Image: (Photo by Michael Regan – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images))
The World Cup opened on Thursday with a scene we desperately wanted to avoid. On the first day of the competition, the stadium was noticeably empty.
The governing body’s influence on the controversial way tickets are sold for the World Cup appears to have quickly become apparent to television viewers around the world. Earlier in the day, FOX violated FIFA regulations in the opening game of the tournament.
The second match of the tournament, between South Korea and the Czech Republic, played at the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, provided the clearest early sign of the problem. Empty sections were clearly visible during the match, especially in the VIP zone and the section opposite the primary camera.
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The atmosphere in Guadalajara was not as intense as in the opening game in Mexico City (Image: (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images))
It followed the controversy that erupted with the first game. That was the image FIFA spent months and millions of hours trying to avoid.
As recently as early June, the governing body carefully reduced prices for all 104 games, releasing 70 percent of bulk-booked hotel rooms in what appears to have taken 11 hours to fill seats, the Mirror reported.
It turned out to be insufficient. On the eve of the tournament, approximately 180,000 tickets remained listed on FIFA’s official resale platform. Approximately 15,000 group stage tickets were still available directly from FIFA’s website.
Several seats were left empty during the match between South Korea and the Czech Republic (Image: ITV)
More than 4,400 seats remained unsold through official channels for the U.S. opener against Paraguay on June 12, one of the most anticipated games of the tournament. The cheapest tickets sold directly from FIFA are still selling for $1,120 (£835), and despite a 20% month-on-month drop in prices, the median resale price is over $800 (£597).
The roots of the crisis lie firmly in FIFA’s decision to use variable pricing for the first time at the World Cup. This model is distinguished from “dynamic pricing” primarily as a matter of semantics. Prices for 90 of the 104 games increased by an average of 34% from October 2025 to April 2026.
The cheapest standard ticket to the final amounted to $5,785 (£4,315). The most expensive seat reached $10,990, then tripled again. At one point, the final ticket on the resale market was fetching nearly $33,000.
GUADALJARA, MEXICO – JUNE 11: “44,985” attendance is displayed on an LED screen for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group A match between South Korea and Czech Republic at Guadalajara Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico on June 11, 2026. (Image: (Photo Credit: Molly Darlington/Getty Images))
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When the United States, Canada and Mexico made their original host bids, they were promised up to $1,550 for a spot in the finals.
The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey have launched formal investigations into the pricing practices and issued subpoenas to FIFA. Congressional officials called for Gianni Infantino to appear in Congress. The day before the tournament began, Infantino defended the pricing, claiming cheaper tickets would have been resold on the black market.
The empty seats on the first day are the worst reaction to that claim yet. FIFA announced in January that its ticketing site had received more than 500 million reservation requests. However, judging by Thursday’s opening game, demand at the price set by FIFA was noticeably low.
Supporters quickly noticed the empty seats, with one person writing online: “The number of empty seats is truly extraordinary. It’s a huge shame for FIFA.”
Meanwhile, another person told X: “Stadiums aren’t full this World Cup. FIFA is making record revenue. Advertising is up. Hydration breaks are really just commercial timeouts. Okay, you’re in business. But this empty stadium problem? That’s 100% your fault.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino watched the match between South Korea and the Czech Republic at the Guadalajara Stadium in Zapopan (Image: (Ulises RUIZ / AFP via Getty Images))
A third said: “I wonder how much the tickets are priced on this ticket resale portal. There are so many empty seats. Looks like FIFA haven’t reduced their ‘last minute’ sale prices at all. Rumor has it they’re just handing out tickets to sponsors instead.”
Another person wrote on social media: “In the end, the price is reasonable, so even the commentators said that the empty seats are in the expensive seats, but they are too expensive. People who are not from Korea or the Czech Republic would probably spend more money on the bigger games.”
A fifth fan fumed: “All fans who regularly go to matches have been bought out, exorbitant ticket prices, accommodation prices have increased, domestic travel has increased almost tenfold, and general holiday expenses (food, drinks, tourism, etc.) have increased. It has become completely impossible for working people to go to matches.”
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