Tens of thousands of World Cup tickets still unsold as ‘variable pricing’ drama escalates, hundreds of empty seats visible in stadiums

The 2026 World Cup is officially underway, but the opening matches have showcased to the world a sight governing body FIFA would like to have avoided: hundreds of empty seats in stadiums. The second game of the tournament, South Korea v Czechia in Guadalajara, was particularly badly hit, with video online showing large vacant areas in the stadium.

Tickets to the World Cup are a hot commodity as die-hard fans gather from around the world to support their nations in one of the biggest sporting events the world has ever seen. So, what’s happened?

As per a report in The Mirror, the current situation stems from FIFA’s ticketing approach, which it bills as “variable pricing”, similar to the controversial “dynamic pricing” that’s been the bane of concertgoers for the last few years.

As per the article, this approach saw prices steadily climb for World Cup tickets to a point where even the most committed supporters apparently decided to just watch on TV instead. FIFA even saw this coming and did its best to avoid it with a last-minute price slash in early June.

But, reportedly, more than 180,000 tickets remain unsold on FIFA’s official resale portals, with 15,000 tickets still available through FIFA’s website for the group stages.

The original pitch

This wasn’t the plan. The United States, Canada, and Mexico’s pitch to host the World Cup promised a cap on ticket prices, with a seat at the final pledged to cost a maximum of $1,550. What actually happened was that they reached $5,785, with final tickets on the resale market at one point reaching almost $33,000.

Observers have heavily criticized the ticketing situation, with sports podcaster Joe Pompliano going so far as to dub it a “disaster” on X:

World Cup ticket sales have been a disaster.

FIFA held back tickets to create artificial scarcity, launched its own resale platform with a 15% fee for both buyers and sellers, and now there are still 180,000 tickets available for purchase.

READ: https://t.co/3UKLVaM6IM pic.twitter.com/Ubsoskr4xd

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 10, 2026

“World Cup ticket sales have been a disaster. FIFA held back tickets to create artificial scarcity, launched its own resale platform with a 15% fee for both buyers and sellers, and now there are still 180,000 tickets available for purchase.”

Texan influencer RayRachel just described the attendance as “kinda sad”, saying she thinks FIFA is “ruining the beautiful game”:

Kinda sad to see so many empty seats tonight. FIFA and scalpers are ruining the beautiful game. Normal fans can't afford 2k per seat. #FIFAWorldCup #WorldCup2026 #WC2026

— RayRachel (@RayRachelTV) June 12, 2026

“Kinda sad to see so many empty seats tonight. FIFA and scalpers are ruining the beautiful game. Normal fans can’t afford 2k per seat.”

With only a few matches played, this situation could change, but don’t be surprised if you tune in to a game and notice that the cheering in the stadium is a little more muted than you might expect. And, if you want last-minute tickets, you might soon be able to get them at a much lower price than you think.