CLUB WORLD CUP
Poor crowd response forces FIFA to slash Club World Cup tickets
FIFA is facing a challenging start to its revamped 32-team Club World Cup. Ticket sales for the opening match between Inter Miami and Al-Ahly remain sluggish.
This is occurring despite aggressive price reductions. The match is set for June 14 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The stadium has a capacity of 65,326. This event was initially expected to be a blockbuster kickoff. Lionel Messi, one of soccer’s biggest stars, was headlining.
Key Takeaways:
- Ticket prices have dropped dramatically:
- Initial prices were up to $349 after the December draw.
- Now, the cheapest tickets are going for $55 on Ticketmaster.
- This reflects a dynamic pricing model FIFA is using, where prices fluctuate based on demand.
- Sales are reportedly well below expectations:
- Some sources suggest fewer than 20,000 tickets have been sold. FIFA denies this claim. They assert a “much higher” number without providing specifics.
- FIFA’s strategy questioned:
- Staging the game in Inter Miami’s home market was expected to boost attendance. Critics argue it might have made Messi and the team less of a novelty than if they had played elsewhere.
- There’s also concern that local fans may be resistant to paying inflated prices, especially at a non-regular home stadium (Hard Rock vs. Chase Stadium).
- Other matches show mixed pricing strategies:
- Inter Miami vs. Palmeiras (June 25): starting at $113.
- Inter Miami vs. Porto in Atlanta (June 19): starting at $58.
FIFA is banking on a final-week marketing push and the draw of Messi to turn things around. But the situation highlights the growing pains of expanding the Club World Cup into a major, U.S.-based global tournament—and raises doubts about the pricing model’s effectiveness in unfamiliar soccer markets.
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Brazil formally has told FIFA it wants to host the 2029 Club World Cup, according to a report by ESPN Brazil.
The request was delivered during meetings in Rio de Janeiro as FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited the country.
Infantino’s trip was focused on kick-starting the buildup to the 2027 Women’s World Cup, which will be staged across eight host cities in Brazil.
Behind the scenes, Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) officials continued to push for FIFA’s expanded club tournament to grace South America’s biggest market. FIFA did not run a traditional bidding contest for the 2025 edition — instead appointing the United States to stage the 32-team event — and has yet to outline how the 2029 host will be selected.
CBF president Samir Xaud has framed the talks as ongoing, saying last year: “It’s a subject I discussed with president Infantino… God willing, Brazil will host the 2029 Club World Cup.”
For 2029, Brazil already has one club assured of a place in the tournament. Flamengo earned its spot by winning the 2025 Copa Libertadores title.
-Reuters
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Controversy has erupted following Chelsea’s dramatic victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup final, with reports suggesting that the trophy presented to the English club is a replica – and that the original remains in the possession of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Blues clinched the inaugural edition of the revamped tournament at the MetLife Stadium on Sunday, July 13, with captain Reece James receiving the silverware from Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
However, social media and the international press have been ablaze with claims that the trophy lifted during the celebrations was not the authentic one.
Videos from the post-match ceremony showed Trump lingering on the podium well after the presentation, standing beside James as he hoisted the trophy. This unusual move immediately drew attention.
Now, the intrigue has deepened following Trump’s own remarks in an interview with sports broadcaster DAZN, in which he admitted that the original trophy was currently “in his office at the White House.”
According to sources, Infantino unveiled the redesigned Club World Cup trophy at the White House shortly after Trump returned to office earlier this year, following his election win over Kamala Harris.
It now appears that the original trophy never left the presidential residence, prompting FIFA to commission a replica for the ceremony in New Jersey.
Adding fuel to the fire, Trump was also seen pocketing one of the winner’s medals during the event.
Infantino had handed him a medal, presumably for inspection, but the U.S. President was later spotted slipping it inside his blazer.
This led to online jokes among fans, with some suggesting he had taken the medal intended for Chelsea winger Noni Madueke, who left the squad just before the final to complete a surprise move to Arsenal.
Madueke was reportedly seen partying with Jadon Sancho at the Wireless Festival in London while Chelsea celebrated across the Atlantic.
The incident has cast an odd shadow over what was otherwise a historic moment for Chelsea, marking their first triumph under the new Club World Cup format.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to take place in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, and the final returning to MetLife Stadium, questions may linger over the relationship between football’s global leadership and its most controversial political host.
FIFA has yet to comment officially on the trophy replica claims.
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U.S. President Donald Trump paid homage to soccer great Pele after being met with boos and cheers from the crowd at the Club World Cup final on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Chelsea walloped Paris St Germain 3-0 to close out the newly expanded version of the tournament, designed as a glittering curtain-raiser for the 2026 World Cup that the U.S. will co-host with Mexico and Canada.
Trump was seated next to FIFA boss Gianni Infantino in box seats at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where fans booed him when he appeared briefly on the jumbotron during the U.S. national anthem.
He was on his feet in the same VIP suite after Chelsea completed their thrashing of Paris St Germain, pumping his fist as congratulatory music blared.
Trump was met with boos from the crowd again as he posed with the match referees on the pitch during the trophy ceremony, as organisers kept the music pumping in the stadium.
He handed Chelsea their trophy and stood in the middle of the players for their team photo and celebration.
“I knew he was going to be there but I didn’t know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy so I was a bit confused,” said Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer, who scored two goals during the match.
Asked in a TV interview who he believed was soccer’s “GOAT,” Trump named Brazilian icon Pele, who helped spark interest in the sport in the U.S. in his brief time playing for the New York Cosmos in the fledgling North American Soccer League in 1975.
“I came to watch Pele, and he was fantastic,” Trump told broadcaster DAZN. “That’s like saying Babe Ruth, but I would say Pele was so great.”
Trump has embraced sport’s super-sized spotlight during his second term, becoming the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl in February.
In May, he announced D.C. as the host for the 2027 NFL Draft from the Oval Office. He regularly attends UFC and has said he wants to host such fights at the White House next year.
FIFA announced last week that it had opened an office in New York’s Trump Tower ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S. will co-host with Canada and Mexico. A record 48 national teams are set to take part.
Trump’s appearance at MetLife came a day after he threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union, an escalation of a trade war that has angered U.S. allies and rattled investors.
-Reuters
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