FIFA on Friday pinned the blame for rows of empty seats at the 2026 World Cup match between South Korea and the Czech Republic on fans who chose to watch from the concourses.
The 45,664-capacity Guadalajara Stadium showed large swaths of unoccupied spaces in the middle sections, with scattered gaps throughout the venue. The announced attendance was 44,985, a figure that includes FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Empty seats at a World Cup host venue often draw scrutiny, especially in the tournament's opening days when global viewership is highest. The visible gaps risk undermining the spectacle that FIFA and local organizers aim to project.
A counterargument holds that the problem may be structural: only Vancouver's BC Place kept its original branding, while other U.S. venues were forced to scrub corporate names and adopt generic titles like Los Angeles Stadium, which could confuse fans. Confusion over venue identity might have contributed to slower entry flow.
The tournament continues Saturday with Canada seeking its first win and the U.S. opening its campaign against Paraguay. Both matches are expected to draw near-full crowds.