This represents FIFA's latest attempt to increase attendance at the venues of its tournament. FIFA President Infantino aims to demonstrate to clubs, broadcasters and sponsors the feasibility of the first expansion of the Club World Cup, with the hope of continuing to host the event in the future.
This also means that buying tickets to this semifinal may be cheaper than buying a cheesesteak ($15) or a beer ($14) in the MetLife Stadium. Tickets for Chelsea's match against Fruminense, which is usually more expensive, are also reduced to $44.60.
Evidence shows that FIFA tournament volunteers received an email last week providing them with free tickets to the quarter-finals in addition to Real Madrid's match against Dortmund at MetLife Stadium.
Although volunteers may be grateful for the opportunity, this was not planned by FIFA with volunteers before the game. Anonymous volunteers said they were explicitly informed in previous training that there would be no free tickets available. Volunteers who received tickets to the quarter-finals were asked not to wear volunteer uniforms when watching the game, which may be to avoid confusion among the audience. When asked whether the request was intended to disguise volunteers as paid regular audiences, FIFA did not respond directly.
FIFA adopted a dynamic pricing model during this Club World Cup and used Ticketmaster as its official ticketing platform. During the event, fares often fluctuate significantly and are usually adjusted downward. For example, the standard admission minimum fare for the first semifinal of MetLife Stadium (Chelsea vs. Fruminense) was as high as $473.90 on Wednesday. By lunch time Friday, the price dropped to $44.60, and at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, it dropped to $27.90 again. By 1:22 pm, the lowest fare had fallen to $13.40.
This means that the price of a football fan buying a ticket on Saturday may be only 2.8% of the standard admission tickets required by FIFA three days ago. When asked if fans who bought tickets at high prices earlier and supported their teams and events would receive any refunds or discounts. When asked if they thought it was a fair way to treat paid football fans, FIFA also did not respond.
Both semi-finals will be held at MetLife Stadium, but the second game will be played against Paris by Real Madrid against Dortmund. The standard admission ticket for the second semifinal was $978 on Wednesday, but lunch time had dropped to $199.60 by Saturday, which again means that fans who bought tickets earlier may feel like they spent hundreds more now. Within minutes of Paris' victory over Bayern, the cheapest standard entry tickets rose by nearly $70 to $266.60, but at the break of the last quarter-finals, the price fell back to $199.60. Price cuts in the quarter-finals and semi-finals may indicate that FIFA admitted to mistakes in initially setting too high fares for the event and overestimating its demand. The average attendance rate in the group stage exceeded 35,000 people per game, with some of which were nearly sold out, but there were also tens of thousands of empty seats on many matches. As the event progresses, FIFA is trying to improve the chances and attendance of the game, which is welcome for many fans who can enjoy the game experience. Tickets for the two quarter-finals on Friday fell to $11, while tickets for Paris against Bayern were $44, which had a positive impact on attendance. Paris's match against Bayern attracted 66,937 spectators at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with an attendance rate of about 89%. Chelsea's win over Palmeiras at Lincoln Financial Stadium was about 95%, while Fruminense's victory over Riyadh Crescent at Camping World Stadium was 66%.
FIFA was worried about lower attendance before the game. FIFA invested far more than $50 million in event marketing, including huge spending on social media promotion and internet celebrity collaboration. To fill the Hard Rock Stadium to welcome the opening of the Club World Cup, FIFA has provided a single $20 ticket to students at an affiliated local college (with a network of 100,000 students) and promised to give up to 4 free tickets.
A week before the start of the game, the cheapest ticket to Miami International against Cairo Nationals dropped to $55, just half of the price in May. The cheapest seat tickets were $230 in January, and rose to $349 after the December draw.
TA previously reported that FIFA plans to adopt a dynamic pricing model at the World Cup jointly organized by the United States, Canada and Mexico next year.
FIFA said in response to the question: "Volunteers are crucial to the success of each FIFA event. As a thank you for their hard work and dedication, it is common to invite them to watch the game on site when they have the opportunity. FIFA is proud to support the 8,000 volunteers in the first Club World Cup, and inviting them to watch the game is in line with similar initiatives implemented in previous FIFA events."
"As mentioned many times, according to local market practices and regulations, and as reflected in the General Terms and Conditions of Ticketing, floating pricing has been implemented for all sessions of this event since ticket sales began at the end of 2024. This means that ticket prices have been and will continue to be adjusted according to demand and supply for each match."