By Natalia Siniawski and Miguel Lo Bianco
GUADALAJARA, Mexico, June 11 (Reuters) - FIFA reported an attendance of 44,985 for Thursday's World Cup match between South Korea and the Czech Republic in Guadalajara, but swathes of empty seats around the stadium renewed concerns over ticket pricing and demand for the expanded tournament.
While more than 80,000 squeezed into the Azteca stadium to watch the opener between co-hosts Mexico and South Africa, the optics of unoccupied rows at the 46,000-seat stadium in Guadalajara,
a city with a deep-rooted football culture, have intensified criticism of FIFA's commercial strategy for the first 48-team World Cup.
Some fans at the stadium blamed the high ticket prices for the rows of empty seats and criticised FIFA for their pricing model.
Reuters has contacted FIFA for comment.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Wednesday defended FIFA's ticket pricing following criticism from supporters who argued the cost of attending matches had become prohibitive. He said ticket prices were on a par with other major sporting events.
FIFA has sold more than 6 million tickets for the tournament and previously highlighted strong interest from across the Americas, with Infantino saying demand had exceeded expectations by "a factor of 10 or more".
However, groups such as Football Supporters Europe (FSE) had warned that "extortionate" pricing would exclude ordinary fans. According to FSE, ticket prices for this tournament have jumped fivefold compared to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
South Korea beat the Czechs 2-1 in the Group A match.
(Reporting by Natalia Siniawski and Miguel lo Bianco; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
