Friday marked a new milestone in Canadian sports history. The FIFA Football World Cup, being organized for the first time in the country, had a very colorful and grand inauguration in Toronto. The opening ceremony, held just before the first match of Group B, featured global music and Bollywood. However, amidst this historic start, a controversy has arisen on social media regarding the vacant seats in the stadium, on which FIFA had to give an official clarification.
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Nora Fatehi’s magic and global stars’ performance
Famous Bollywood actress and dancer Nora Fatehi was the main attraction in this opening ceremony held at the prestigious BMO Field Stadium in Toronto. Nora made the audience dance with her excellent performance on the World Cup’s official anthem ‘Siir Siir’.
Apart from him, many other global artists displayed their art at the ceremony:
Famous artists Wajedream and Sanjoy set the stage in Toronto with their Jugalbandi.
Just before the start of the match, famous Canadian singers Jessie Reyez and Alessia Cara performed.
Emerging global artist of Palestinian origin Eliana also enthralled the audience with her magical voice.
Immediately after this grand ceremony, the competition between co-host Canada and Bosnia-Herzegovina began. It is noteworthy that Bosnia-Herzegovina has made it to this World Cup by defeating Europe’s giant team Italy.
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Criticism from fans and controversy over empty seats
On one hand, there was a fair of stars on the field, on the other hand, some fans did not find the opening ceremony as exciting as expected and criticized FIFA on social media. Additionally, many seats in Toronto’s stadium appeared empty.
The same situation was also seen during the match of South Korea vs Czechia (Czech Republic) played at Estadio Akron located in Guadalajara, Mexico. However, the main Azteca stadium in Mexico City was completely packed.
Ticket Resale Report: According to reports, just one day before the start of the tournament, about 180,000 tickets were available for resale on FIFA’s official resale platform, while about 15,000 tickets for the group stage remained vacant for purchase directly on the FIFA website.
FIFA’s official counterattack on claims of vacant seats
FIFA rejected these claims after visuals of empty seats in the stadiums of Guadalajara and Toronto went viral. FIFA Media issued a statement on social media platform ‘X’ clarifying the situation: “Official attendance figures are always based on scanned tickets and the actual number of total spectators present inside the stadium, and not on visual estimates of people occupying seats during matches. FIFA always publishes operational data verified in collaboration with stadium authorities and ticketing teams.”
Explaining the reason for the empty seats, FIFA further said, “During the match in Guadalajara, many ticket-holding fans were enjoying the match by standing in the stadium concourse (the area containing the promenade and food court) instead of sitting in their assigned chairs, due to which the seats appeared empty.”
This World Cup is a historic event for Canada. Despite the mixed response to the opening ceremony and the controversy over resale of tickets, the craze for this football extravaganza in North America (Canada, Mexico and America) is expected to increase further in the coming days.
— Nora Fatehi (@norafatehi) June 13, 2026
A special opening ceremony in Toronto as Canada hosts its first-ever @FIFAWorldCup fixture! 👏🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/QrDnAkDeVY
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) June 12, 2026