There have been four games so far at the World Cup in Qatar with England and Wales featuring, but questions are being asked about the attendance figures which seem to defy the images of empty seats

The World Cup attendance figures announced by Qatar have raised eyebrows amid questions over their legitimacy.

The tournament began on Sunday evening as football’s most watched sporting event ventured to the Middle East for the first time in its history. Qatar are desperate to put on a good show having spent billions on stadiums and infrastructure and kicked off the World Cup against Ecuador.

All Khor’s Al Bayt Stadium was the venue for the game, which was won comfortably by the South American nation. The stadium holds 60,000 fans, yet the official attendance figure for the game was 67,372, despite visible sections of empty seats throughout the coverage.

This has become a trend with official attendances exceeding the capacities for each stadium. England’s 6-2 win over Iran on Monday was the second game of the tournament, but off the pitch thousands of England fans were still outside the stadium come kick-off.

Ticketing issues meant many were denied entry and the stadium had visible pockets of empty seats. Yet the attendance figure at Khalifa International Stadium was announced at 45,334, despite the stadium’s official capacity being 40,000.

It was a similar story with the Netherlands’ win over Senegal just hours later. The Dutch got their World Cup off to the perfect start with a 2-0 win at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha. Its capacity is listed at 40,000 – yet the official figure states that 41,721 fans were present.

DOHA, QATAR – NOVEMBER 21: Empty seats are seen among fans during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match between USA and Wales at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on November 21, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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FIFA claims that the Al Thumama Stadium in “event mode” has an increased capacity of 44,400, but no reason was given for the thousands of empty seats visible around the arena. Wales’ draw with the USA was the third and final game on the tournament’s second day.

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Gareth Bale rescued a point for the Welsh in front of just over 43,000 fans at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium – which has an official capacity of 40,000. Again, seats were visibly left empty which raised further questions. The trend continued into day three with Argentina’s shock defeat to Saudi Arabia played in front of 88,012 fans – more than 8,000 over the capaicty.

FIFA and the hosts have also found themselves in hot water after making it clear to several nations that their captains were not permitted to wear their ‘One Love’ armband.

England and Wales were among two countries set to do so, but had to U-turn at the last minute. Gareth Southgate said on the decision: “It’s not something the players or myself have been involved with over the last 24 hours. Those discussions have been ongoing between several European nations and FIFA. I actually do understand Fifa’s situation, in that you can set a precedent and it’s very difficult then, where do you draw the line?”