The excitement of FIFA World Cup 2026 is visible on the field, but along with it a big controversy has also arisen. A heated debate has erupted on social media and in the football world after a large number of empty seats were seen in the stands of the stadium in the initial days of the tournament. Especially during the match played between South Korea and Czech Republic in Guadalajara, Mexico, many parts of the TV broadcast were seen completely empty. This surprised the fans because FIFA had declared this match almost housefull. Now, after the worldwide uproar over this whole matter, FIFA, the global football body, has had to come forward and give clarification. What is the complete mathematics of vacant seats and claims? There was a very slight difference between the total capacity of the Guadalajara stadium and the official figures, but the reality on the ground was telling something else on TV. You can easily understand this situation from the table given below: FIFA’s clarification: ‘People were eating food instead of sitting on the seats’ When FIFA’s official figures started being called ‘fake’ and ‘fake’ on social media, FIFA issued a statement and put forward the strange logic behind it. Official statement from FIFA:

"Stadium attendance figures are determined by how many tickets are scanned at the gate and how many people enter the premises, not by how many seats are seen on TV cameras at a particular time. During the Guadalajara match, a large number of ticket-holding spectators were enjoying the match by standing in the concourse (stadium gallery) and food-stall area instead of sitting in their assigned seats, due to which the seats appeared empty."

FIFA’s ticket policy on target: ‘Dynamic pricing’ has spoiled the game. FIFA may be making the excuse of spectators being in the concourse, but sports critics and fans believe that the real reason for this emptiness is the skyrocketing prices of tickets. FIFA has adopted ‘Dynamic Pricing Model’ (changing prices based on demand) for this tournament being jointly hosted by America, Mexico and Canada. Since the start of ticket sales, their prices have been increased wildly several times. According to reports, the prices of tickets for some ordinary matches have also increased to five figures (i.e. lakhs of rupees). However, FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended these expensive tickets and said that these prices are absolutely right according to the standards of the North American market. Current status of the tournament: Just before the start of the World Cup, FIFA itself admitted that only 29 matches of this Mahakumbh have been completely sold-out (all the tickets have been sold), while tickets are still available for 75 matches. In such a situation, the insistence on expensive tickets and the empty seats seen in the stadium may overshadow the credibility of this mega event of FIFA in the coming days.