Article #50347

• President gave ticket to a young female soccer fan

• ‘I gave it to someone who couldn’t go, who loves football’

The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, explained on Friday why she was absent from the Azteca Stadium during Mexico’s opening match with South Africa, saying that tickets to the match were unaffordable for most Mexicans and that she had given her ticket to a young female soccer fan.

“Stadium tickets are very expensive,” Sheinbaum said during her daily morning news conference. “As president it’s better that I give my place to someone who couldn’t have gone, who loves football, especially a young woman, and I can celebrate it with the people for free.”