Off The Pitch Gossips
Empty seats and a borrowed stadium: FIFA greed is already haunting the World Cup 2026
Last Updated on 12 June 2026
The greatest show on Earth is back. Forty-eight nations. Three host countries. One hundred and four matches. Yet somehow, within hours of kick-off, FIFA had already reminded us who this tournament is really for.
The football, as ever, delivered. But beneath the spectacle, two uncomfortable truths surfaced fast. Ticket prices are keeping real fans out.
And the wrong stadium will host the biggest game in world football: the World Cup final. Both problems share the same author.
Empty seats prove FIFA’s ticket pricing is indefensible
The second match of the tournament: South Korea against Czechia at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, offered the starkest early proof. Empty sections appeared throughout, particularly in VIP areas and sections opposite the main camera. This was not bad luck.
It was a direct consequence of policy. Prices for 90 of the 104 matches rose by an average of 34 percent between October 2025 and April 2026. The cheapest standard ticket to the final hit $5,785. The most expensive seats reached $10,990, before later tripling again.
Furthermore, when the trio originally submitted their hosting bid, a seat at the final was promised at a maximum of $1,550. FIFA broke that promise spectacularly. Consequently, around 180,000 tickets remained listed on the official resale portals ahead of the tournament.
President Donald Trump continues to lie while Infantino defended the pricing. The empty seats, however, tell a different story, one full of controversies.
The Azteca deserved the Final – Not just the curtain-raiser
Meanwhile, down in Mexico City, more than 80,000 boisterous fans saw Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 at the Azteca Stadium in the World Cup opener. It was electric. It was historic. And it was, heartbreakingly, just a group stage opener.
The Azteca hosted the 1970 and 1986 World Cup finals. Pele’s Brazil dismantled Italy there. Maradona produced the Hand of God and the Goal of the Century on that pitch. No stadium on Earth carries more World Cup soul. Yet FIFA chose MetLife Stadium in New Jersey instead.
It’s an NFL ground in East Rutherford that will host the final on July 19. The reason was clear: New York means more money, more eyeballs, more corporate hospitality. Thursday’s opening roar from 80,000 Mexican fans only underlined what FIFA surrendered.
The final should have gone back to the Azteca. Instead, it goes to a car park in New Jersey. That choice belongs to FIFA. So does the embarrassment that follows.
