Some wheelchair users say they could not purchase accessible World Cup tickets at BC Place despite seeing multiple empty sections on match days.
For lifelong soccer fan Kyle Gieni, the FIFA World Cup coming to Vancouver was something he couldn’t miss.
“To have the World Cup in your hometown, in your backyard, it goes without saying that you have to watch at least one or two games,” Gieni, a wheelchair user, told CityNews.
He went all in and bought tickets for three matches at BC Place, including the historic Team Canada win against Qatar.
“I don’t think I have ever heard a wave so loud coming from the other side; just the roar was incredible, and a thrill to be a part of it,” he said.
But Gieni says that his excitement turned to frustration when trying to navigate accessibility tickets.
According to Gieni, FIFA’s ticketing website showed accessible seats as unavailable, leaving him to spend nearly $6,000 on what FIFA classified as hospitality seating for just one match.
“I didn’t find them for sale anywhere; there were no tickets for sale except for a couple third party sites,” he explained.
“I don’t know how they got a hold of them, but at the same time, nobody was sitting in the wheelchair section of these games.”
Once inside BC Place, Gieni noticed numerous empty accessible seating locations throughout the stadium.
“I was almost flabbergasted at these sections that were empty. I’m like, something must be going on here.”
Gieni isn’t alone. Fellow Vancouver resident Kirsten Sharp says she was able to obtain an accessible ticket through a personal contact connected to FIFA.
Sharp says she was also told accessible seating was sold out but later saw significant availability in accessible sections on match day.
“It appears that they didn’t even sell them,” Sharp told CityNews.
“I just want to get a proper answer as to why these seats weren’t made available in the first place,” Gieni added.
In a statement, FIFA says that it had sold roughly 30,000 accessibility tickets across the entire tournament and encouraged customers to continue checking its resale platform for availability.
“You would think if they can make grass grow inside of BC Place, they’d figure out accessible seating,” Sharp said.
Both say that they hope FIFA reviews its ticketing process before future matches so that those with a disability can take in the beautiful game.