Concerns about ticket prices during the preparation for the final round seem to have become a reality when many empty seats appeared in the match between South Korea and the Czech Republic in Guadalajara last Thursday, as well as the match on Saturday between Qatar and Switzerland in the Bay Area of California.
However, FIFA said that by the end of Monday, there were 1,284,29 fans present at the matches, with stadium occupancy rates reaching 99.34% according to the organization's data.
On his personal Instagram page, FIFA President Gianni Infantino posted a photo taken with his 1 millionth fan, Aaron Bren.
Sincerely thank you to all the enthusiastic fans who have continued to fill the stands – you have brought life to the most comprehensive FIFA World Cup in history," Infantino wrote.
Meanwhile, a group of fans issued a warning about "risks" due to the lack of segregation (segregation) between groups of fans at matches.
CEO of the Football Supporters Europe organization, Mr. Ronan Evain, shared with the British press:
The lack of fan zone is abnormal for a major tournament like this. What is worrying is that FIFA does not really know who owns tickets in different areas... because they are promoting excessive ticket buying and selling. Therefore, the possibility – or risk – of'Team A' fans sitting among the crowd of'Team B' is higher than ever.
Sources from FIFA have pointed out a reality that the most loyal fans of each country are grouped together in a separately allocated area protected for PMA (ticket classes specifically for loyal fans of each specific team).
The 2026 World Cup has a total of 104 matches, taking place until July 19 and is expected to break the record for the number of spectators at the stadium.
The current record is 3,587,538 (52 matches), held by the 1994 World Cup in the US.
