Two weeks into the start of the World Cup in Qatar, organizers reported just 765,000 visitors, well below expectations for the sporting event.

Qatar was expecting an influx of 1.2 million people during the nearly month-long competition for the biggest soccer event on the planet.

A significant increase in attendances is unlikely at this stage of the tournament, with only eight teams remaining in contention for the trophy and just eight matches out of the 64 that began on November 20.

The report of the organizing committee states that 765,859 foreign visitors were registered during the first 17 days of the tournament, of which more than half have already left.

The report recorded 1.33 million match ticket holders and 3.09 million tickets sold across the eight stadiums hosting matches at the FIFA World Cup, which ends on December 18.

The total attendance at the stadiums for the first 52 matches of the World Cup reached 2.65 million spectators, the document states.

Earlier, FIFA said that attendance at arenas in Qatar exceeded the corresponding period of the World Cup in Russia since 2018, reports Agerpres.