Al Jazeera reporters on floor confronted prolonged queues to enter the stadium as a consequence of tighter safety checks.
Printed On 19 Jul 2026
Followers, media staff and staff confronted prolonged queues to get in to the FIFA World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, which is anticipated to be attended by United States President Donald Trump.
Within the 48 hours earlier than Sunday’s finale at New York New Jersey Stadium, FIFA despatched emails to media workers inviting them to reach as early as six hours earlier than kickoff and warned them of street closures 150 minutes beforehand.
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Among the many media and stadium staff, the end result gave the impression to be an early crunch to clear tight safety that included inspections by Secret Service brokers.
Al Jazeera reporters had a two-hour wait between coming into the queue and clearing the preliminary safety perimeter. Different journalists who arrived earlier reported wait instances of three hours or extra.
Trump’s helicopter landed subsequent to the stadium as lengthy traces of spectators waited to enter via enhanced safety checks due to him.
One reporter was denied entry into the venue regardless of having match accreditation.
Malfunctioning ticket scanners added to everybody’s frustration as they queued within the warmth.
Quite a few different media personnel had been denied entry on the safety perimeter of the 80,000-capacity venue and despatched to the stadium’s accreditation centre.
The identical situation was true for a lot of followers, in keeping with on-line studies. Regardless of warnings advising ticket-holders to indicate up 4 hours early, there have been quite a few reported waits of two hours or extra in fan queues, with some additionally reporting malfunctioning ticket scanners.
Nevertheless, when gamers from Spain and Argentina first took the sector roughly 45 minutes earlier than kickoff, a wholesome portion of the decrease stadium bowl gave the impression to be full, together with the overwhelming majority of allotted supporters’ sections.
It’s not the primary main cup remaining on US soil to have logistical delays for followers.
In 2024, the kickoff of the Copa America remaining in Miami Gardens, Florida, was delayed by about 75 minutes as a consequence of overwhelmed personnel at fan entrances.
Important numbers of un-ticketed followers then rushed turnstiles and compelled entry earlier than regulation enforcement regularly labored to clear these with out paid admission because the match progressed.
