Soccer-Mexico City's Azteca stadium box holders get automatic World Cup access

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - World Cup - Mexico marks one year to go until the World Cup - Mexico City, Mexico - June 12, 2025 An aerial view of the renovation work on the Azteca Stadium or Banorte Stadium is part of a commercial agreement ahead of the 2026 World Cup, during which Azteca will host the opening match and become the first venue in the world to have hosted three World Cups, following 1970 and 1986. REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Box and suite holders at Mexico City's Azteca stadium, also known as Estadio Banorte, will have free access to 2026 World Cup matches after they reached an agreement with FIFA, the stadium's owners said.

Under the terms of the long-standing contractual rights, box seat holders - whose 99-year clause was originally established to help fund the stadium's construction in 1966 - will be granted free access to all five matches, including the tournament opener.