Tickets for Club World Cup semi-final reduced from $473 to $13 in just 72 hours – The Athletic – The New York Times

FIFA Club World Cup
Standard admission pricing for FIFA’s Club World Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Fluminense on Tuesday afternoon at MetLife Stadium was reduced to just $13.40 today (Saturday) — having been priced at $473.90 less than 72 hours earlier.
It represents FIFA’s latest attempts to increase attendances at their venues as its president, Gianni Infantino, seeks to demonstrate proof of concept of the inaugural expanded Club World Cup to clubs, broadcasters and sponsors with a view to future editions.
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It also means that it could be cheaper to buy a ticket to that semi-final than buy a cheesesteak ($15) or beer ($14) inside MetLife. Tickets in the ordinarily more expensive lower ring are also down to $44.60 for the Chelsea-Fluminense game.
The Athletic has also seen evidence that FIFA’s volunteers for the tournaments received emails last week offering them four complimentary tickets to all quarter-final matches, with the exception of Real Madrid’s fixture against Borussia Dortmund at MetLife.
While the volunteers were likely grateful for the opportunity, this does not appear to have been pre-planned before the tournament by FIFA with volunteers, who remain anonymous to protect their positions, indicating that they were told in training sessions beforehand that free tickets would not be made available. Volunteers who took the tickets for the quarter-finals were asked not to wear their uniforms when attending the games, which may have been to avoid confusing matchgoing spectators. FIFA did not directly respond when asked if this request was also to give the volunteers the appearance of being a paying member of the public.
FIFA has utilized a dynamic pricing model during the Club World Cup while using Ticketmaster as its official selling portal for the competition. The pricing has often seen dramatic swings, often downwards, during the tournament. The first semi-final at MetLife, for example, showed the cheapest standard admission ticket prices to be $473.90 on Wednesday, as reported by The Athletic. By Friday lunchtime, prices were down to $44.60, while at 11.30am on Saturday morning, they were reduced again to $27.90. By 1.22pm, the cheapest tickets were down to $13.40.
It means that a football fan may have been able to buy a ticket on Saturday for 2.8 per cent of the price FIFA were asking for standard admission only three days earlier. Asked whether those fans who supported their team and the tournament earlier on by buying at higher prices, up to a 35 times multiple, may receive any refund or discount, FIFA did not specifically reply. It also did not reply when asked if they consider this to be a fair way to treat paying football fans.
Both semi-finals will take place at MetLife, but the second game will see the winner of Real Madrid’s game against Dortmund take on the winner of Paris Saint-Germain, who beat Bayern Munich earlier on Saturday. Standard admission for the second semi-final was $978 on Wednesday but down to $199.60 by Saturday lunchtime, again meaning fans may now feel they overspent by hundreds of dollars. Within minutes of PSG’s win over Bayern, the cheapest standard admission then rose by almost $70 to $266.60, as a clash between the UEFA Champions League winners and Real Madrid or Borussia Dortmund moved into view, though then fell to $199.60 by half-time of the last quarter-final.
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The reduced prices for the quarter-finals and semi-finals may represent an admission by FIFA that they erred in setting original pricing so high for the tournament and overestimated the demand for a newly conceived tournament. The group stage attendance represented an average of over 35,000 fans per game, which saw some games close to sold out but many featuring tens of thousands of empty seats. FIFA has sought to increase access and attendances as the tournament has gone on, which will have been welcomed by many who were able to enjoy the experience.
Prices went to $11 for the two quarter-finals on Friday and $44 for PSG’s win over Bayern, which appeared to have a positive impact on the attendances for the games. The PSG-Bayern game saw 66,937 in attendance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, making it approximately 89 per cent full. Chelsea’s win over Palmeiras at Lincoln Financial Field was approximately 95 per cent full, while Fluminense’s victory over Al Hilal at Camping World Stadium was 66 per cent full.
FIFA did have concerns before the tournament that attendances may fall below expectations. The Athletic has previously reported how the organization has committed substantially more than $50m in marketing the competition, including a vast spend on social media promotion and influencers. Attempts to fill Hard Rock Stadium for the Club World Cup opening match between Inter Miami and Egyptian team Al-Ahly involved offering students at an affiliated local college (with a network of 100,000 students) a single ticket for $20, but with the promise of up to four complimentary tickets.
The cheapest entry for Inter Miami’s game against Al-Ahly dropped to $55 the week before the tournament, half of what they were available for in May. Tickets were $230 for the cheapest seat in January and $349 after the draw in December.
The Athletic has previously reported that FIFA is planning to use a dynamic pricing model for the World Cup next year, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
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A FIFA statement in response to The Athletic’s questions read: “Volunteers are essential for the delivery of every FIFA tournament and as a mark of appreciation for their hard work and dedication it is not uncommon to offer them the experience of attending live matches if the opportunity arises. FIFA is proud of the 8,000 volunteers who are providing their support to the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup and inviting them to attend matches is in line with similar initiatives implemented at previous FIFA competitions.
“As already mentioned on many occasions, in accordance with local market practices and regulations, and as reflected in the Ticketing General Terms and Conditions, variable pricing has been implemented for general public ticket sales for all matches in the competition since the start of the ticket sales in late 2024. This means that ticket prices have been and will continue to be adjusted based on demand and availability for each match.”
(Top photo: Juan Mabromata/AFP via Getty Images)
Adam Crafton is a British journalist based in New York City, having relocated from London in 2024. He primarily covers soccer for The Athletic. In 2024, he was named the Sports Writer of the Year by the Sports’ Journalist Association, after winning the Young Sports Writer of the Year award in 2018. Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamCrafton_

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