Fan dies after fall at Mexico City stadium hosting 2026 World Cup opener

A man has died in Mexico City’s newly renovated Estadio Banorte after falling from a box seat area before the stadium’s reopening match on Saturday, security officials said.

Authorities said ​the ⁠man was intoxicated and attempted to jump from ​the second-level box seats to ​the ⁠first level by climbing along the exterior of the structure before ⁠falling ​to the ground ​floor, Reuters reported.

The accident occurred just as the stadium, which is scheduled to host the FIFA 2026 World Cup opening ceremony later this summer, hosted a friendly match between Mexico and Portugal. The match was intended to serve as a stress test for the facility, previously known as the Azteca Stadium.

Shortly after the incident, the Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO) released a statement, saying, “The Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the death of a person that occurred on March 28 inside Estadio Banorte, prior to the start of a friendly match of the Mexican National Team.”

“According to initial reports, the incident took place in the suite area of the venue, from where the person fell to the parking area, resulting in their death. The Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office will continue the investigations thoroughly and will keep the public informed as relevant developments are obtained.

“Furthermore, analysis of CCTV footage from the stadium and its entrances is underway, as is the collection of statements from people who were at the scene, with the aim of accurately reconstructing the sequence of events and determining potential liability,” it wrote.

“Similarly, the statutory post-mortem procedure is currently underway to establish with certainty the cause of death, as well as the physical condition of the individual at the time of the fall.”

On Sunday, the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) posted a statement, sharing condolences for the death of the fan and said its priority is “safeguarding the safety of those inside stadiums.”

The identity of the fan has not been publicly released at the time of this writing.

The Banorte Stadium is slated to host five matches, including the inaugural match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between Mexico and South Africa on June 11.

This isn’t the first time a sports fan has faced injuries after falling from the stands.

Last April, a baseball fan was in critical condition after falling 6.4 metres from the Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park during a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs.

Right after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning, putting the Pirates ahead 4-3, players began waving frantically for medical personnel and pointing to the man who had fallen onto the warning track.

Another fan had jumped from a lower section of the outfield wall to help the person who fell.

The fan who had fallen was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of the Pirates and Cubs training staffs, as well as PNC personnel, before being placed on a stretcher and removed from the field on a cart.

Pittsburgh Public Safety said he was taken to the hospital in critical condition and that police were investigating.

The game was delayed for about 10 minutes before resuming in the bottom of the seventh inning. Many players were seen taking a knee.

The fan, identified as Kavan Markwood, spoke publicly about his fall last May, telling the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review he had “broken everything.”

He said that he had many back and neck injuries and said, “I’m all right. I can’t really sleep. I have a lot of back pain.”

Global News has reached out to FIFA for further comment.

— With files from Reuters