By William Ezah, GNA Special Correspondent, New York, USA
New York, June 17, GNA – Prior to the commencement of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States of America (USA), there were serious concerns over attendance and possible empty seats at the various stadiums.
Unlike other countries, the USA has fewer or no passionate football fans. The interest in the competition was low; people hardly talked about it.
The preoccupation of the average American and immigrant was getting to work, chasing hours to make more money to meet footing huge bills on a monthly basis.
It was clear the low number of marquee teams in the competition was also taking a toll on the competition, which is expected to be a precursor to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
A few days into the competition, the fears became real; ticket sales were record low, despite starting in December 2024.
The cheapest then was $257, and the highest went for almost $10,000 for matches involving Real Madrid, under the FIFA pricing model, which is mostly influenced by demands for each match.
Sensing danger, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and his team stepped up their game to arrest the situation and executed a number of strategies to avoid low patronage and empty seats during the competition.
Fears averted!
Indeed, FIFA admitted the fears, and Infantino, in addressing the media, said his outfit will deal with it.
And the impressive turnout at the matches played so far is testament to the measures FIFA put in place to avert the situation.
So far, the match between Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami and Egyptian giants Real Madrid at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida, with a capacity of 65,326, attracted 60,927 fans, while the Bayern Munich and Auckland City match drew 21,152 fans to the TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.
PSG’s game against Atletico Madrid attracted 80,619 fans to the 89,702-seater Rose Bowl Stadium in California, while the Palmeiras and FC Porto game drew 46,275 fans to the 82,500-seater MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Attendance so far is quite impressive, if one is tempted to make a direct comparison against the fears.
How did FIFA avert the troubling situation?
Price cuts. FIFA, sensing danger, made significant price cuts on tickets, pushing down an initial $349 ticket to $55.
Again, FIFA entered into partnership deals with Miami Dade College to offer heavily discounted tickets ($20) to students, including the possibility of receiving complimentary tickets. This initiative aimed to increase attendance, particularly for games not featuring marquee teams.
In addition, FIFA offered partial refunds to fans who had already bought tickets at the initial price as a way of motivating them to patronize the matches.
Furthermore, FIFA has not hesitated in offering giveaway tickets to fill empty seats, which also played out well for the matches.
For definite reasons, FIFA did not leave out marketing and promotions and doubled their budget to $50 million to boost the competition and sales as well.
FIFA is also considering using smaller stadiums, especially for teams that are not well known.
Future
Going forward, this competition would definitely serve as a solid platform for FIFA to revise its strategies for the promotion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as well as the selection of host nations, venues, and other factors that make a competition great.
GNA
Edited by William Ezah