Key Points
- Japan beat South Korea 2-0 in the women’s football semi-final with fewer than 1000 watching in the stadium
- North Korea defeated China 2-0 in the other semi-final before only 564 fans
- Organisers say more than one million tickets have been sold, but some major events have drawn sparse crowds
NAGOYA, JAPAN: The Asian Games in Japan are facing scrutiny over attendance after fewer than 1,000 spectators watched the host nation beat South Korea in a women’s football semi-final at a stadium with a capacity of about 50,000.
The match was played on Tuesday at the stadium in Shizuoka, a venue used during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. With rain falling steadily, the official attendance was 998.
Earlier the same day, 564 spectators watched North Korea defeat China 2-0 in the other women’s football semi-final at the same venue.
Japan will face North Korea for the women’s football gold medal on Friday at the Shizuoka stadium.
Attendance is a talking point since the Asian Games opening ceremony on September 19 was held before thousands of empty seats in Nagoya stadium.
Japan typhoon threat keeps attendance low
Organisers attributed the poor turnout partly to the threat of a typhoon, while heavy rain also affected the region from Sunday through Tuesday this week.
Some competitions have lured strong crowds, but several events at larger venues have struggled to draw spectators.
Takashi Yamazaki, head of ticketing for the Games, said on Wednesday that attendance at some sports had reached 80 per cent to 90 per cent or more of venue capacity.
He said, however, that large venues hosting baseball, football and athletics had faced difficulties because of their size.
“Tickets usually surge in the final stretch before an event,” Yamazaki said, adding that a prolonged spell of cold rain had dampened ticket sales.
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“We were already struggling more than expected, and then sales stalled further,” he said. “That is a little disappointing.”
The organisers in Aichi-Nagoya said on Tuesday that more than one million tickets had been sold for the continental multi-sport event, Asia’s biggest sporting competition.
However, they acknowledged that attendance at some headline events had fallen short of expectations.
The men’s and women’s 100 metres, among the most prominent events on the Athletics Programme, were held on Friday before thousands of empty seats. Organisers said they were “not satisfied” with the turnout.
