The FIFA World Cup 2026 is a few days under way following a lead-up marred by controversy over visas, ticket prices, logistical issues and more.

But while both FIFA and local organisers may have hoped the heat of competition on the pitch would cause the negative publicity to fizzle out, the tournament seems unable to catch a break from further problems.

Fans were among the event's most vocal critics before it began, but some matches are now grappling with their absence instead, with large numbers of seats left empty during some games.

Tom Bason, assistant professor in Sports Management at Coventry University, believes that while the price of the tickets is a significant factor behind the empty seats, it is far from the only one.

"I don't think fans are very happy with the processes by which FIFA have sold the tickets.

"Some of them have paid a fortune for Category 1 tickets only to end up in areas at the stadium without that great view," Bason explains.

On top of that, fans also had to deal with travelling long distances, the increased costs and the difficulty of obtaining a visa to get to the World Cup, which were not seen in previous instances.

Bason argues that while empty seats are unlikely to affect FIFA or the organisers financially, they do risk tarnishing the tournament's reputation.

"FIFA wants football to be the world's game; their whole brand is that everyone wants to watch and be at the World Cup.

"So I think there's a bit of a credibility gap opening between [Gianni] Infantino spending months saying that the demand is there and then what we've seen so far and the tickets that remain on sale."

However, empty seats are a familiar feature of FIFA tournaments in the United States.

Similar scenes were seen at last year's Club World Cup, indicating that the governing body may not have fully addressed the factors behind previous attendance concerns.

"My hunch is that FIFA thought they could explain away their ticketing issues at the Club World Cup," says Bason.

"It was the first edition; it's not a tournament that has a huge amount of prestige yet.

"I think that FIFA probably thought that the prestige of the World Cup would mean that they could have exactly the same processes and get a very different result, that people would want to buy tickets for the World Cup in the way that they haven't for the Club World Cup."

Although some matches have been played in front of large numbers of empty seats, it is important to remember that this is the biggest World Cup ever, featuring a record 48 teams.

The expanded format has increased the number of group-stage fixtures, meaning that some of the less high-profile matches may struggle to attract enough spectators to fill stadiums.

"The expansion to 48 teams means there are a lot more less glamorous teams. It's a little easier to qualify at the group stages," explains Bason. "That means that in the group stage, there are a lot more matches with less interest.

"I reckon that as the teams start to get whittled down, we'll see fewer seats being available.

"But FIFA knew they had this format when they set the prices and when they set their pricing strategy – this is very much a mess of their own making."