Empty seats, ticket prices raise concerns at World Cup matches

The World Cup kicked off in Mexico's famous Azteca Stadium with a grand ceremony filled with tradition, dance and Shakira's music. This time the World Cup is being held in Mexico, the United States and Canada. The excitement of football fans surrounding this tournament, which is held every four years, is palpable. Billions of viewers are glued to their TV screens, and preparations to go to the stadium to watch their favorite team play begin well in advance.

However, there have been mixed reactions to the ticket prices for this year's World Cup. Even US President Donald Trump has said that he is not willing to spend $1,000 or more to watch the first match of the United States. His comments suggest that ticket prices have reached a very high level.

Meanwhile, FIFA said that 44,985 spectators were present at the match between South Korea and the Czech Republic in Guardalavara yesterday. However, many empty seats in the stadium have raised new concerns about ticket prices.

Despite the 80,000-strong crowd at the Azteca Stadium for the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, the empty stands at the 46,000-seat stadium in Guadalajara have drawn criticism of FIFA's commercial strategy. Some fans blame the high ticket prices for the empty seats and are criticizing FIFA's pricing policy.

Following the criticism from fans, FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Wednesday defended the price hike. He said ticket prices were on par with other major sporting events. But many fans say going to the games is now more expensive than before.

FIFA said more than 6 million tickets had already been sold for the tournament and that interest had been high across the Americas. Infantino claimed demand had increased "10 times or more" than expected.

Football Supporters Europe, meanwhile, called the price hike a "betrayal". They allege that the highest ticket price for the final of the Qatar World Cup was $1,600, but this time it has increased to almost $11,000.