{"id":39850,"date":"2026-07-19T23:21:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T23:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T23:21:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T23:21:30","slug":"itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"ITV Announces Empty Seats at World Cup Final Embarrass FIFA | Soccer | Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-type=\"article-body\">\n<div class=\"clearfix hR new-style\">\n<div class=\"photo changeSpace\">\n<p class=\"withoutCaption\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"zoomEnabled\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/1200x712\/secondary\/JS412947953-7050065.jpg?r=1784488230994\" alt=\"Panoramic view of MetLife Stadium\" title=\"Panoramic view of MetLife Stadium\" width=\"590\" height=\"393\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"newsCaption\">FIFA had a ticket problem <span class=\"caption\">(Image: Sebastian Frej\/Getty Images)<\/span><span class=\"magnifier\" data-img=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/1200x712\/secondary\/JS412947953-7050065.jpg?r=1784488230994\"\/><\/span><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"subh\" id=\"Everything-you-need-to-know-76947060\" data-toc=\"0\">Everything you need to know<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"text-description\">Watchers and spectators at the World Cup final would have been shocked to see a rush of empty seats before kick-off. Spain and Argentina are competing in the final, with the latter looking to defend their title with inspiration from Lionel Messi. A technical glitch in FIFA&#8217;s ticket scanning system threatened to delay the marquee event at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. &#8220;There are some empty seats but unfortunately FIFA had a technical glitch with their ticketing system so there&#8217;s still a huge queue outside and we&#8217;re 20 to 25 minutes away from kick-off so we&#8217;re just waiting for these places to fill up,&#8221; Laura Woods said on the ITV broadcast. It was clear that there were long queues for supporters trying to access the venue. However, some fans seem to have been misguided. At the 80,663-capacity ground, fans paid thousands of dollars to watch FIFA&#8217;s most expensive tickets, priced at around \u00a38,333. This is the most expensive general admission ticket ever. With US President Donald Trump in attendance, US security officials took over control of security operations at the stadium. There were also claims that those who did not arrive at least six hours before kick-off would have difficulty getting into the stadium in time. FIFA advised fans to take their seats four hours before kickoff. The closing ceremony began 90 minutes before the match and was scheduled to include a performance by Robbie Williams.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/football\/2230804\/fifa-embarrassed-empty-seats-world\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FIFA had a ticket problem (Image: Sebastian Frej\/Getty Images) Everything you need to know Watchers and spectators at the World Cup final would have been shocked to see a rush of empty seats before kick-off. Spain and Argentina are competing in the final, with the latter looking to defend their title with inspiration from Lionel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-39850","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-matches"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>ITV Announces Empty Seats at World Cup Final Embarrass FIFA | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ITV Announces Empty Seats at World Cup Final Embarrass FIFA | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"FIFA had a ticket problem (Image: Sebastian Frej\/Getty Images) Everything you need to know Watchers and spectators at the World Cup final would have been shocked to see a rush of empty seats before kick-off. Spain and Argentina are competing in the final, with the latter looking to defend their title with inspiration from Lionel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-19T23:21:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/1200x712\/secondary\/JS412947953-7050065.jpg?r=1784488230994\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/\",\"name\":\"ITV Announces Empty Seats at World Cup Final Embarrass FIFA | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7050066.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-19T23:21:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7050066.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7050066.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ITV Announces Empty Seats at World Cup Final Embarrass FIFA | Soccer | Sports\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\",\"name\":\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\",\"description\":\"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. Get the latest EPL news, live match updates, transfer rumors, team analysis, fixtures, and exclusive insights for true football fans.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\",\"name\":\"admin_ok9yktt6\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin_ok9yktt6\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/author\/admin_ok9yktt6\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ITV Announces Empty Seats at World Cup Final Embarrass FIFA | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ITV Announces Empty Seats at World Cup Final Embarrass FIFA | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","og_description":"FIFA had a ticket problem (Image: Sebastian Frej\/Getty Images) Everything you need to know Watchers and spectators at the World Cup final would have been shocked to see a rush of empty seats before kick-off. Spain and Argentina are competing in the final, with the latter looking to defend their title with inspiration from Lionel","og_url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/","og_site_name":"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","article_published_time":"2026-07-19T23:21:30+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/1200x712\/secondary\/JS412947953-7050065.jpg?r=1784488230994","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"admin_ok9yktt6","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin_ok9yktt6","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/","name":"ITV Announces Empty Seats at World Cup Final Embarrass FIFA | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7050066.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-19T23:21:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7050066.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7050066.jpg","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/itv-announces-empty-seats-at-world-cup-final-embarrass-fifa-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ITV Announces Empty Seats at World Cup Final Embarrass FIFA | Soccer | Sports"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/","name":"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates","description":"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. Get the latest EPL news, live match updates, transfer rumors, team analysis, fixtures, and exclusive insights for true football fans.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9","name":"admin_ok9yktt6","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin_ok9yktt6"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/eplvip.com"],"url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/author\/admin_ok9yktt6\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}