FIFA blames empty World Cup seats on fans in concourses

Empty seats spread across Levi’s Stadium as the Bay Area opened its World Cup run, turning the first match into an early credibility test for FIFA’s U.S. showcase. The problem was visible enough that FIFA, just one day earlier, had blamed similar gaps at the South Korea-Czech Republic match in Guadalajara on fans who stayed in the concourses.

In Santa Clara, the optics were especially sharp because the venue had just staged Super Bowl LX four months earlier. The Bay Area opener, Qatar against Switzerland, kicked off at noon on June 13 under a temperature of about 82 degrees Fahrenheit, and many of the vacant seats were on the east side of the stadium, which can get punishingly hot. Levi’s Stadium can hold 68,500 for NFL games and be expanded to more than 70,000 for soccer, but thousands of seats still sat open even as the Bay Area began a stretch of six World Cup matches running through July 1.

The attendance problem is not just about one game. FIFA is using the non-sponsored name San Francisco Bay Area Stadium for the tournament, underscoring how prominently Santa Clara has been positioned on the global sports calendar this year. FIFA has noted that seven World Cup 2026 stadiums have hosted a Super Bowl, and Levi’s Stadium is one of them. In that context, sparse stands in a high-profile American market invite scrutiny over whether the issue lies with pricing, scheduling, stadium layout, or fan habits that keep people moving instead of sitting.

Local organizers have tried to widen the event’s footprint beyond the bowl itself. The Bay Area Host Committee said it had set up more than 30 free fan watch parties across the region, including at Thrive City, China Basin Park, Oakland’s Raimondi Park and San Jose’s San Pedro Square. The strategy suggests officials know that demand may be spread across the region rather than concentrated inside the stadium, even with millions expected to descend on the area over the next few weeks.

Tailgating, a familiar NFL ritual at Levi’s Stadium, was not allowed for World Cup matches, and small lines formed outside hours before kickoff as fans arrived early. That made the sight of empty seats harder to dismiss as a late-arrival problem. Levi’s did draw 70,971 for a Brazil-Colombia Copa America group match two years ago, a reminder that the building can be packed for soccer. Whether it fills again for the rest of the Bay Area slate will shape expectations for later marquee matches and for FIFA’s broader U.S. presentation.