Thousands of FIFA World Cup fans hoping to find their seats ahead of the first match at Miami Stadium were met with travel delays. Hours after the match between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia ended in a draw, many fans took to social media to complain about their transportation nightmare getting into t he stadium. “We’ve been here for an hour and there’s still no school bus. Probably the worst setup I’ve ever seen,” said Jonathan Odom in a video on social media. Odom was among thousands of fans who were stranded in line for hours. “Tons of fans had to start watching the games on their phones because they weren’t able to get to the stadium on time,” said Cata Balzano in a social media video. “We have to wait to get on these buses because we were told we can’t walk.” said a fan named William. Fans without parking passes were required to board shuttle buses to gain access to Miami Stadium, creating major delays and causing some fans to miss a majority of the match. “We just made it and just so you guys calculate, they’re already at halftime. So we missed half the match,” said Balzano. “It was moving out of pace that I was like it’s gonna be close to game time and it was. We missed the first kick and we missed all the pregame stuff, which I really wanted to see,” said Odom. But once fans were inside the stadium, things changed. Odom said despite the issues, the wait was worth it at the end. “Once I got inside it was one of the best experiences I’ve had, but it was like it could’ve been so much better if the leading up process was a little bit better,” said Odom. Odom was one of 65,000 Saudi Arabia and Uruguay fans who had stadium seats to the match. “Everybody’s dancing, everybody was cheering. One way or the other, didn’t matter. Everybody was having a good time,” said soccer fan Paola Moya. “It was one of the most fun I’ve ever had at any sporting event. The atmosphere was crazy,” he said. In a statement, officials from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said: “MDSO did not experience any operational issues at our security checkpoints. As previously communicated through our advisories and social media platforms, gates opened three hours before kickoff and fans were encouraged to arrive early. For future matches, attendees should plan accordingly and allow ample time for travel, parking, and security screening, particularly given the large crowds expected for World Cup events.” FIFA officials and Miami Stadium officials have not responded to 7News’ request for comment. ...read more read less