Official reports from the first World Cup matches gave rise to smiles. How is it possible to accommodate 45,334 spectators in a stadium when the announced capacity of the latter is only 40,000 seats, as was the case during the rouste inflicted by England on Iran on Monday? ? Not to mention the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador, under the eyes of 67,372 people at the Al Bayt stadium, officially planned for 60,000 spectators and which in addition a good part of the public had started to desert from the half-time in front of the poverty of the spectacle offered by the local team. The same was noted for the meetings between the Netherlands and Senegal and between the United States and Wales on Monday.
But that was before. Before FIFA realized the incongruity and updated the technical sheets of the competition enclosures. Solicited by us, the international body responded with a table indicating the new capacities of the stadiums hosting the matches of this World Cup. With a nice increase ranging from 10 to 15% for each speaker. Why not, after all these are brand new speakers.
On the other hand, FIFA’s response was more than evasive on the second part of our question. But why do we see so many empty seats at the start of the matches, when officially 2.95 million tickets have been sold (almost all, to within a few thousand) according to what Gianni Infantino announced the day of the opening ceremony? 88,012 spectators during Argentina-Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, not for us. We would have thought we were in certain parts of the stands on the Central of Roland-Garros on a Thursday at 2 p.m.
“FIFA is monitoring ticketing operations in accordance with its commitment to guarantee the best possible experience for all fans attending the World Cup”, replies the great organizer of world football. Nothing to do with sauerkraut, but thank you. To find elements of explanation, it is better to turn to the foreign press.
the Guardian several factors advanced on Tuesday. The first is that ticket holders do not come. Most of the empty seats are located in the first two levels, which correspond to the most expensive places, which may suggest that sponsors or guests have chosen not to travel to Qatar, for reasons that belong to them.
Places paid for but not used
Foreign supporters who bought tickets when they went on sale could also choose not to come, for economic reasons in particular. Knowing that the system developed on the spot to sell tickets returned or not sold on a case-by-case basis seems to be defective, according to various testimonies. There are also problems with digital ticketing, reports the English newspaper, evidenced by the long queues outside the “incident resolution” centers near the stadiums, for example during the Argentina-Saudi Arabia and England matches. -Iran.
Spectators have therefore chosen not to use their tickets, when others are struggling to enter the enclosures. But each place paid is counted, regardless of whether it is occupied or not. This is why the visual impression is sometimes not matched with the official attendance announced.