World Cup 2026 attendance: World Cup 2026 in U. S is already a flop show? Empty red seats are everywhere at Levi’s Stadium in Bay Area, FIFA has this to say

Thousands of empty seats were scattered around Levi’s Stadium during Qatar’s surprising 1-1 draw with Switzerland at the 2026 World Cup on Saturday. On an unseasonably warm June afternoon by Bay Area standards, with temperatures around 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius), most of those empty seats were on the east side of the stadium, which can often be very hot much of the year.

Swiss fans wore bright red and mingled with the empty red seats. Attendance was put at 67,966, close to the official capacity of 68,827 for World Cup matches.

On Friday, FIFA blamed fans watching the arenas for empty seats at the World Cup match between South Korea and the Czech Republic in Guadalajara.

Crowds often arrive late for NFL games at Levi’s Stadium due to tailgating outside the field in the heart of Silicon Valley, but not for World Cup games. This made for a smooth start to Saturday, as small queues formed outside a few hours before kick-off.

Levi’s Stadium holds 68,500 spectators for NFL games, but that number can be increased to over 70,000 for football. Brazil and Colombia drew 70,971 in group play at the Copa America two years ago.

The stadium in Santa Clara had staged the Super Bowl just four months earlier.