Day 618 — FIFA World Cup 2026 Opens at Estadio Azteca; Sheinbaum Gives Away Her Opening-Match Ticket Amid Price Backlash as Teachers and Disappearance Marchers Protest Outside

On June 11, 2026 (Day 618), the FIFA World Cup 2026 formally opened at Estadio Azteca (Estadio Banorte) in Mexico City — the first stadium in history to host three World Cup opening matches (1970, 1986, 2026) — with Mexico facing South Africa before more than 80,000 fans. The ceremony featured fireworks, a large-scale light show, and performances of the official tournament song 'Dai Dai' by Shakira, Burna Boy, and J Balvin. President Claudia Sheinbaum did not attend as a ticketholder in the traditional sense: she gave away her allotted opening-match ticket via a public contest inviting women aged 16–25 to submit videos demonstrating soccer skills (keepy-uppies) alongside a statement of their connection to the sport; 21-year-old Indigenous contestant Yolett Cervantes Cuaquehua of Veracruz was announced the winner. Sheinbaum said 'very few people will be able to attend the opening,' an implicit acknowledgment of ticket prices reaching hundreds of dollars that critics called exclusionary for ordinary Mexican fans — one resident quoted in press coverage called the pricing 'very discriminatory.' The celebratory atmosphere clashed with parallel demonstrations: CNTE teachers' union contingents blocked access to plazas designated for FIFA Fan Fest celebrations as part of their ongoing national strike (Day 11), while more than 1,000 relatives of missing persons marched toward the stadium carrying photographs and candles to draw international attention to Mexico's disappearance crisis during the tournament's global spotlight. Sheinbaum acknowledged uncertainty in the run-up to the opening but stated 'everything is under control.' The government has estimated the tournament will generate approximately $3 billion in economic activity for Mexico.