The World Cup 2026 match between Switzerland and Qatar in San Francisco featured numerous empty seats, raising further questions about FIFA’s ticket pricing strategy for the tournament.
This Group B clash at Levi’s Stadium was the first game in the United States not involving the host nation and failed to sell out, with the cheapest tickets available for $450 in Category 1.
Similar issues of empty seats were observed in other early tournament matches, including South Korea versus the Czech Republic in Guadalajara and Canada’s opening match in Toronto.
FIFA defended the attendance figures by stating that many fans were in concourses rather than their assigned seats, despite only 29 matches selling out before the tournament began, contradicting President Gianni Infantino’s claim of “unprecedented” demand.
Chief legal officers in New York and New Jersey are investigating FIFA’s ticketing practices, alleging “artificially inflated prices” and “misleading fans” through tactics like variable pricing, releasing more expensive tickets later, and holding back seats to create scarcity, with the 2026 World Cup estimated to be significantly more expensive than previous tournaments.
