Hundreds of Empty Seats Spark Embarrassment at World Cup Match

FIFA faced embarrassment last night after the World Cup’s second game, between South Korea and Czechia, was staged with large sections of seats visibly empty — just a day after Gianni Infantino claimed ticket demand had reached “unprecedented” levels. The dispute over pricing has quickly become a public-relations headache for football’s governing body on the tournament’s opening day, which was also overshadowed by unrest in Mexico City. FIFA had said its ticketing platform received a record 500 million booking requests, far surpassing any previous tournament, yet the stadium in Guadalajara, western Mexico, was clearly not at capacity. The announcer inside the 45,664-seat venue gave the attendance as 44,985 for South Korea’s comeback victory over Czechia, but television pictures showed notable gaps, especially in VIP sections — far more than the roughly 700 empty seats implied by FIFA’s figure in a city of 5.6 million people. Despite repeatedly pointing to huge demand, FIFA has already been forced to slash prices across all 104 matches in an effort to draw more supporters to games in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Supporters, however, have continued to criticize the cost of attending, with even lower-demand group-stage fixtures still listed at more than $300. Thousands of seats remain available through FIFA’s official resale channels, including for the United States’ opening match against Paraguay in Los Angeles on Friday. By contrast, the tournament opener at Mexico City’s famed Azteca Stadium was announced as an 83,264 sell-out, with home fans watching Mexico defeat South Africa 2-0 after an opening ceremony that included Shakira and a duet from KPop Demon Hunters star Ejae and Andrea Bocelli.

Outside the Azteca, though, the celebrations were marred by disorder as protesters clashed with Mexican police, throwing petrol bombs and bricks during demonstrations focused on human rights concerns. Others attempted to enter the stadium without tickets. FIFA has maintained that interest in World Cup tickets has never been higher, saying demand is ten times greater than at previous editions. “You’ve heard, there were many discussions about the ticketing of the World Cup,” Infantino said in April. “We had 500 million ticket requests — 500 million ticket requests. In the last two World Cups together, we had 50 million ticket requests. Here, 500 million.”

On the pitch, South Korea recovered from going behind to beat Czechia 2-1, but the empty seats provided an unwanted subplot. FIFA’s opening day quickly became turbulent, with violent demonstrations erupting outside the Mexico City venue before Mexico’s first match against South Africa. What was intended to be a worldwide celebration instead took on the tone of a political crisis, threatening to overshadow the tournament’s launch. While Mexico earned a 2-0 win, thousands of demonstrators gathered in the capital to protest over missing citizens and poor labor conditions.

The large-scale protests were driven by a coalition of unions and activist organizations seeking to use the global spotlight to highlight Mexico’s deep domestic problems. Among the most visible groups involved were collectives of mothers searching for missing relatives, the CNTE teachers’ union, federal judiciary employees and several transport groups. Reports said eight separate protests took place simultaneously on Thursday. Human rights organizations have also drawn renewed attention to Mexico’s missing-persons crisis, which continues to devastate tens of thousands of families. According to the country’s National Registry, 134,460 people are currently recorded as missing nationwide, with the number still rising sharply.

Shakira formally launched the 2026 World Cup on Thursday as the football showcase began amid a climate of disruption that threatened to distract from the event itself. In a repeat of the 2010 tournament’s opening fixture, Mexico began its campaign with a 2-0 victory over South Africa at the historic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Before the match kicked off, however, spectators were given a high-energy ceremony. Shakira and Burna Boy performed Dai Dai, the official song of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as the centerpiece of the opening show.

The ceremony delivered a vivid mix of music, color and choreography, with hundreds of dancers joining the Colombian star on a stage built at midfield. Shakira, wearing a neon yellow bodysuit and white miniskirts, drew loud cheers from the packed Azteca crowd as she performed her trademark hip-shaking moves among waves of backup dancers. The singer, who also recorded the official anthem for the 2010 World Cup, brought her familiar energy to the arena and was joined by a traditional Mexican mariachi band.

A giant gold replica of the World Cup trophy rose from the center of the stage as dancers in bright costumes streamed out around it. The packed entertainment program also included Alejandro Fernandez, Belinda, Danny Ocean, J Balvin, Lila Downs, Los Angeles Azules, Mana and Tyla, all of whom appear on the first-ever FIFA World Cup album. J Balvin, Shakira’s fellow Colombian and one of the ceremony’s marquee performers, took the stage before her appearance and delivered one of the show’s headline moments.

J Balvin, one of the biggest artists in Latin America, performed alongside singer Ryan Castro after Mexican pop-rock legends Mana warmed up the home crowd with their classic hits. Mexican actress and FIFA ambassador Salma Hayek was tasked with officially opening the tournament. She delivered a short welcome speech before the ceremonial display of national flags and was later spotted in the stands alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino. South African singer Tyla performed her nation’s national anthem before kickoff before later taking a seat alongside reggaeton singer Becky G, who, despite being born in the US, proudly embraces her Mexican heritage and supports El Tri.

A stream of Mexican fans descended on the famous stadium hours before kickoff to celebrate their nation hosting the World Cup for a record third time. They transformed the Azteca into a spectacle of color, dressing in red and green from head to toe. Many sported eye-catching outfits, donning extravagant headdresses, sequined sombreros and luchador masks. Those not fortunate enough to have gotten their hands on one of the eye-wateringly expensive tickets piled into the fan zone in the Zócalo plaza in the historic district of Mexico City. However, chaotic scenes broke out at the free admission fan park just over an hour before kickoff.

Access to the fan fest in Zócalo plaza was hampered by metal barriers erected in recent days to prevent protesting teachers from reaching the area. But thousands of fans attempted to shove their way into the fan zone, according to AFP. ‘Stop pushing and shoving, there are children here, you’re like animals!’ a city official shouted through a megaphone as he tried to control access to the fan venue. Some fans threw water bottles and hurled insults at police, as well as chanting in support of the Mexican team.

The local government announced on social media that the site was ‘full’ and suggested fans go to other plazas. Meanwhile, while fans around the world were stunned by Shakira’s performance, viewers in the United States were furious when Fox, the official American broadcaster of the World Cup, failed to show the ceremony on its live coverage. Instead, American fans tuning in to catch the high-octane performance were forced to listen to analysis from the network’s panel of Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexi Lalas. It is unclear why the network decided to shun Shakira’s performance but Telemundo, the Spanish-language carrier of the tournament, broadcast the entire show.