FIFA Facing Backlash for World Cup Announcement Before USA-Paraguay
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is officially underway across Mexico, Canada and the United States. Mexico opened the tournament with a 2-0 victory over South Africa on Thursday in front of more than 80,000 fans at Estadio Azteca.
But less than 24 hours later, the conversation surrounding the tournament had moved away from football and toward growing concerns over attendance figures and ticket pricing.
The controversy emerged during South Korea's 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic in Guadalajara. Despite FIFA reporting an official attendance of 44,985 in the 46,000-seat venue, television broadcasts and photos from inside the stadium showed large sections of empty seats throughout the match. The optics quickly sparked debate online, with many fans questioning how a crowd reported to be near capacity could appear so sparse.
On Friday, FIFA responded with a statement explaining how attendance figures are calculated.
"Official attendance figures reflect the number of tickets scanned and spectators present within the stadium footprint, rather than visual assessments of seating occupancy at any given moment during the match."
FIFA added that some ticket holders were standing in concourses rather than remaining in their assigned seats throughout the game and stressed that all published attendance figures are based on verified operational data.
Official attendance figures reflect the number of tickets scanned and spectators present within the stadium footprint, rather than visual assessments of seating occupancy at any given moment during the match. FIFA works closely with stadium authorities and ticketing teams to… pic.twitter.com/UIJ0y9xTFp
— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) June 12, 2026
However, the explanation did little to calm the criticism, as soccer fans reacted sternly on social media.
"This is already the worst World Cup of all time," one fan said.
"Nah you overcharged for tickets. This is your greed on display. Football is and always will be for the fans," another added.
"Result of greed. Clear out needed at @FIFAcom," wrote one.
"This is embarrassing ," another commented. "So thousands will be roaming around and standing in concourses instead of sitting in their seats to watch the game?"
"Haha, so embarrassed you had to give a statement. No one believes you. You are ruining football," a fan responded.
"You've ruined the best tournament in the history of the sport. You should all be ashamed of yourselves," another posted.
While fans continue to push back online, the tournament resumes Friday night as the United States face Paraguay in one of the most anticipated matches of the opening round.
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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 2:36 PM.