World Cup opening ceremony boycott threat as FIFA given talks deadline | Football | Sport
FIFA have been urged to intervene amid fears thousands of fans could boycott the opening match of the World Cup. Owners of executive boxes at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City claim they have encountered significant restrictions regarding the sale of their seats and the provision of food and beverages to those attending the tournament opener between Mexico and South Africa, as well as subsequent fixtures.
More than 15,000 seats in the recently renovated 87,000-capacity arena are impacted. The issue arises from FIFA’s insistence on assuming complete control of stadiums during the tournament, a policy it has upheld since the 1998 World Cup. Yet when the ground underwent a total reconstruction in 1966, boxes were sold with unrestricted rights spanning 99 years. Those rights encompassed all sporting events and music concerts, including the 1970 and 1986 World Cups.
Box owners, disgruntled by the new limitations imposed upon them for the tournament, are now threatening action, including boycotts and demonstrations backed by the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE) union, should constructive discussions with FIFA and other stakeholders fail to materialise.
Roberto Ruano, a representative of the Mexican Association of Box and Grandstand Seat Holders, said: “They are forcing us to accept the support offered by the CNTE. If there is no dialogue by Wednesday or Thursday, we will ask for the support of our friends who are also protesting.”
Ruano has issued pleas to FIFA and Emilio Azcarraga, whose Grupo Ollamani company owns both the stadium and the Club America club side that plays there. Ruano added: “I want to take this opportunity to make a gentlemanly appeal to Emilio Azcarraga, to tell him that I am ready to sit down and talk with him.
“We are three days away from the World Cup, and we have the CNTE, the transport workers, and many other groups ready to support us if he wants to continue blocking us. The stadium management, FIFA, FIFA Mexico, Grupo Ollamani and Grupo Banorte are refusing to meet with us.
“We are publicly notifying them, in accordance with the precautionary measures issued by the Sixth District Judge of Mexico City, that tomorrow [Wednesday] at 2pm we will be with all the box and grandstand owners to deliver our food and drinks. They don’t want to receive this notification, but we’ll leave it under their doors.”
The 2026 World Cup has already proved deeply contentious even before a ball has been kicked, with widespread complaints over ticket pricing and the volatile political climate in the US, who find themselves at war with Iran, one of the 48 nations taking part.
