One of the biggest questions surrounding the FIFA World Cup in Toronto was answered on Friday: Will Canada’s match actually sell out?
With the temporary stands added on to BMO Field, the capacity for World Cup games was announced as 43,036 and there had been concerns since tickets were released — at exorbitant prices — that the stadium would be filled.
Well, it wasn’t a sellout — by a razor-thin margin.
FIFA’s announced attendance for Canada’s 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina was announced as 43,002 — just 34 short of capacity.
In the days leading up to the match, hundreds of tickets remained on sale both through FIFA’s official ticketing portal and through various resale sites, which had recently been handicapped from making profits due to new provincial legislation.
But with prices falling, fans apparently scooped them up and took in the fantastic spectacle of a soccer match.
And the fans in attendance came through in full force for Canada, loudly cheering the team throughout the game and urging them on to score a second-half equalizer, which eventually came off the right boot of substitute striker Cyle Larin.
Canada’s next game takes place in Vancouver against minnows Qatar on June 18. While tickets for that match are cheaper than seats for Friday’s opener in Toronto, there still are roughly 248 available, per TicketData.com as of Friday evening.
How many Bosnian supporters were there?
One thing is for sure is that the small Balkan nation showed up in force.
While there were some – frankly silly – reports of more than 20,000 Bosnian fans set to attend the match, the actual amount didn’t disappoint.
Neatly two entire sections of the temporary stands on the south side of BMO Field were full of fans decked out in blue and yellow.
They were dancing during the pre-game festivities, sang along to their national anthem and then kept up the support all game long.
What about all of the empty seats in Mexico?
Meanwhile, FIFA has tried to play down questions regarding attendance during Thursday night’s game between South Korea and Czechia.
During the game, the second match of the tournament, large sections of the stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, were sparsely populated by fans.
However, FIFA issues an official statement on Friday, claiming that its announced attendance number of 44,985 – capacity is 48,000 – was correct and accounted for all scanned tickets.
“Official attendance figures reflect the number of tickets scanned and spectators present within the stadium footprint, rather than visual assessments of seating occupancy at any given moment during the match,” FIFA said in a statement posted on social media. “FIFA works closely with stadium authorities and ticketing teams to ensure all published figures are based on verified operational data.
“Please note that, during last night’s match in Guadalajara, several ticketed fans could be seen standing in concourses rather than staying in their assigned seats throughout the match.”