FIFA Denies 'Inflated Attendance' Claims, Citing Fans Standing in Aisles

FIFA has refuted allegations of "inflated attendance" figures that emerged immediately following the opening of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, stating that the numbers are "based on verified operational data."

FIFA announced that 44,985 spectators attended the Group A opening match between South Korea and the Czech Republic, held at Guadalajara Stadium in Mexico yesterday.

Given that Guadalajara Stadium has a capacity of approximately 46,000, this figure suggested the venue was nearly full.

However, photos from the match showed numerous empty seats, sparking suspicions that FIFA had inflated the attendance figures.

Criticism also followed, with some suggesting that excessively high ticket prices were to blame for the apparent lack of spectators.

FIFA responded to the controversy immediately.

On June 13, FIFA stated, "Official attendance figures are not based on a visual assessment of seat occupancy at a specific point during the match, but rather reflect the number of scanned tickets and the actual number of spectators who entered the stadium."

The organization further emphasized, "FIFA works closely with stadium authorities and ticket sales teams to ensure that all figures released are based on verified operational data."

FIFA, which also released photos of the stadium appearing nearly full, added, "Please also note that it was observed yesterday at the Guadalajara stadium that some ticket-holding fans were standing in the aisles throughout the match rather than sitting in their assigned seats."

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.