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Empty seats are a common sight at the World Cup . Photo: Reuters . |
As of the morning of June 29th, nearly 600 tickets for the England vs. Democratic Republic of Congo match, taking place on July 1st at the 67,382-seat Mercedes-Benz Arena in the US, remained unsold. In addition, nearly 3,000 other tickets are being resold on the official FIFA website, according to The Telegraph.
In the final sales round, there were still 123 first-class tickets priced at $885 and 461 second-class tickets priced at $770 . In addition, 2,909 tickets were being resold at prices ranging from $747.50 to as much as $138,000 . These figures do not include tickets appearing on unofficial platforms such as SeatGeek or Vivid Seats.
On June 30th, resale ticket prices for this match dropped by as much as 69%, to around $598 (15.7 million VND). According to MSN , English fans appreciated the atmosphere in the US, but felt that the knockout round ticket prices and travel costs were too expensive, making it difficult for many to extend their trip to follow the team.
It's not unusual for there to be more unsold tickets for World Cup knockout rounds than for the group stage, as fans can't predict which teams will advance to each match. However, the exorbitant ticket prices will undoubtedly make filling the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on July 1st much more difficult.
England's three group stage matches against Croatia, Ghana, and Panama were all classified by FIFA as "sold out" or nearly sold out, although the official figures are based on ticket sales and not reflect the actual number of spectators present.
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The attendance figures released by FIFA for the South Korea -Czech Republic match seem to contradict the large number of empty seats in the stadium. Photo: Reuters. |
The risk of having many empty seats at the World Cup became apparent very early on, right from the opening matches, with large empty spaces appearing in the stands by only the second game of the tournament.
For example, the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara didn't look full at all during South Korea's 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic – amidst controversy surrounding the tournament's exorbitant ticket prices.
Despite the stadium's capacity of 45,664 seats and a reported audience of 44,985, many empty red seats were clearly visible, particularly in the VIP area closest to the pitch in the east stands. These areas reportedly cost between $400 (10.5 million VND) for general admission tickets and $5,000 (over 130 million VND) for corporate packages.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino was also present at the match. The published attendance figures suggest that almost all tickets were sold, but it's likely they are in the hands of individuals or ticket scalpers who cannot resell them on trading platforms.
Later, a FIFA spokesperson explained: "Official attendance figures reflect the number of tickets scanned and the number of people present in the stadium, and are not based on visual estimations of the number of occupied seats at any given time during the match. FIFA works closely with stadium management and ticketing departments to ensure all published data is verified."
The spokesperson also noted that during the match in Guadalajara that day, many ticketed spectators were observed standing in the corridors instead of sitting in their designated seats.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino is a central figure in the controversy surrounding World Cup tickets. Photo: Shutterstock. |
This match took place less than 24 hours after president Gianni Infantino's pre-tournament press conference, in which he declared: "As of today, we have sold over 6 million tickets. Demand is unprecedented, not just a little higher, but more than 10 times higher."
World Cup ticket prices caused the biggest crisis of Infantino's tenure after reports emerged that tickets could cost up to $8,680 . FIFA subsequently had to appease the wave of protests from fan clubs by releasing a very limited number of tickets priced at $60 for national federations to distribute to their most loyal fans.
Furthermore, costs were further exacerbated when FIFA implemented a dynamic pricing model, causing the highest ticket price for the final to skyrocket to $10,990 (nearly 290 million VND). This led to a formal complaint filed with the European Commission, and the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey also launched investigations alleging FIFA "artificially inflated prices" and "misled fans."
The investigation plan includes the possibility of requesting relevant documents from FIFA. Even US President Donald Trump has said he "wouldn't spend money" on tickets at such prices. For its part, FIFA defends the policy, arguing that the prices are appropriate for major sporting events in North America and that net revenue will be reinvested in the development of global football.
Source: https://znews.vn/fifa-lai-sap-muoi-mat-o-tran-anh-chdc-congo-post1664626.html
