Thousands of empty seats in opening games at Qatar 2022
Around a third of seats appeared unoccupied at the Senegal-Netherlands match.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Significant numbers of empty seats could be seen at two of Monday’s World Cup matches in Qatar.
The chief executive of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 said the country was “gripped by football fever” following Sunday’s opening ceremony but around a third of seats appeared unoccupied throughout Senegal’s match against the Netherlands at Al Thumama Stadium.
FIFA did not immediately know why this was the case, but it is understood problems with the ticketing app which affected England fans gaining entry to the match against Iran also occurred at the Senegal-Netherlands match.
At the England match at the Khalifa Stadium, thousands of empty seats could be seen at kick-off but the venue did gradually fill up.
The official attendance of 41,721 for the Senegal match raised eyebrows as well, with the venue listed as having a 40,000 capacity in the official pre-tournament media guide.
However, the final capacity during event mode is higher for each of the eight stadia – with Al Thumama now able to hold 44,400 according to FIFA. However, that still did not explain the empty seats which could be seen.
There was similar confusion on Sunday night when the official attendance at Al Bayt Stadium was over 67,000, with the media guide stating capacity was 60,000.
That stadium in Al Khor was virtually empty by full-time as hosts Qatar succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Ecuador.
FIFA says almost three million tickets have been sold for the finals altogether.