Fifa publishes public data greater than the capacity of the stadiums; understand controversy

It appeared in the World Cup album: of the 8 stadiums dedicated to the competition, 6 have a capacity for 40,000 people; Al Bayt, stage for the opening ceremony and first game, for 60,000; and Lusail, which will host the final, is the biggest of them and has 80,000 fans.

However, as soon as the competition began, the official scoresheets available on the Fifa website presented a spectacle of growth in capacity. According to the organization of the World Cup, the first match of the Cup, on Sunday (20) —Qatar 0 x 2 Ecuador—, was attended by 67,372 people, around 12% above the original capacity of the Al Bayt stadium.

The following day, England crushed the Iranians 6-2, with Saka’s show witnessed by 45,334 fans at the Khalifa International Stadium, just over 13% over the 40,000.

Brazil’s debut at the giant Lusail officially received 88,103 fans, the biggest crowd in the World Cup in the first round — 91 more than Argentina’s defeat against Saudi Arabia.

With the completion of the two Group H games and the end of the first round, only three matches had an audience below the originally announced capacity: the 0-0 tie between Morocco and Croatia, for 59,407 people, at Al Bayt; another 0-0, in Mexico against Poland, when 39,369 fans had the privilege of seeing Lewandowski miss a penalty, at Estadio 974; and Switzerland’s thin win against Cameroon, in front of 39,089 people, at Al Janoub.

The inflated numbers raised questions from FIFA, which posted a new capacity for each of the World Cup arenas on its social networks with surgical precision.

Lusail, for example, had its capacity revised to exactly 88,966, none more, none less. In the new account released by the entity, all eight arenas gained more than 10% capacity. The ones that grew the most in percentage were Al Bayt, which jumped to 68,895, and Internacional Khalifa, which now has 45,857, both with more than 14% readjustment.

In an official statement, FIFA said that “capacity figures for the tournament have been finalized after all operational arrangements have been made, from the final seating map to the temporary infrastructure to accommodate media, broadcasters and guests.”

But there is another issue that FIFA has not yet been able to explain. Even with revised capacities, audiences look very different from what you see on broadcasts, with stadiums full of unoccupied spaces.

With the end of the first round, Fifa announced that “the overall average attendance at matches is an impressive 94%.”

Despite the official numbers, it is possible to see many places available in various games. “The match between Cameroon and Switzerland [público oficial de 39.089] It drew a lot of attention from those present. The holes in the stands were huge and, at best, the stadium was half full,” says Alex Sabino, a reporter for Sheet present in Qatar. With revised capacity, Al Janoub can receive 44,325. That is, it should be almost full.

Another match that drew attention due to its large holes was Holland and Senegal, despite recording more than 90% occupancy.

The numbers released by the entity for the capacity of each game are related to tickets sold, as happens in other sporting events.

Therefore, the simplest explanation is that fans who bought tickets did not enter the stadium. There may also be a relationship with spaces for sponsors and guests who have decided not to attend.

According to the organization, Qataris were the biggest buyers of tickets for the tournament, with 947,046 tickets. Second on this list are the Americans, with a much lower number, 146,616, followed by the Saudis, the only country that borders Qatar, with 123,228. Only the three have numbers above one hundred thousand. Brazil is ninth in this ranking, with 39,546 tickets purchased — it is not enough to fill a stadium.