April 15 – With the FIFA World Club Cup rapidly approaching, ticket sales are nowhere near Taylor Swift territory, but FIFA President Gianni Infantino is displaying unwavering confidence in his competition as it arrives shortly on American shores for the first time.
At Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium – which will host CWC matches before welcoming the actual World Cup next summer – Infantino brushed aside concerns about the tournament’s marketing to American consumers.
“I’m not worried at all to fill a stadium when teams are coming to play a World Cup, to play for something real, not just an exhibition game where sometimes the second or third squads are fielded,” Infantino declared, chest puffed out like a peacock in a FIFA blazer. “This is a real game. This is a real competition.”
“This is a real World Cup. It’s the best players. It’s the best teams coming.”
This expanded 32-team format represents FIFA’s bold attempt to transform what was previously a modest competition featuring just one representative from each confederation into a month-long extravaganza.
The real concern among fans isn’t the concept but the eye-watering cost.
The cheapest ticket for the opening game featuring Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami against Egyptian side Al Ahly will set you back a whopping $356.80 on Ticketmaster. For context, regular-season MLS matches at Inter Miami’s Fort Lauderdale home can be had for as little as $27, leaving fans wondering what exactly that extra $325 is buying them beyond being guinea pigs to a new competition.
In a move that has a whiff of ‘corporate bundling’, FIFA has announced that fans can purchase CWC packages that include priority access to next summer’s World Cup tickets, though these packages come with a caveat.
“When people see what it is, then they realise that they have to come,” Infantino said. “I was always told in the United States of America, you need to bring the best. Americans, they just want to see the best. They don’t want to see average things. Well, the best are coming.”
One imagines supporters of Premier League champions-elect Liverpool FC, LaLiga and Champions League contenders Barcelona and Arsenal (who – all conspicuously absent from this ‘best of the best’ lineup – might beg to differ.
Ever enthusiastic, Infantino concluded his remarks with a direct invitation: “Let me do some publicity. There are still some tickets available. FIFA.com/tickets, get them and enjoy the best of the best playing for this, which is something incredible.”
Something incredible indeed – like the incredible disappearing act your bank balance performs after purchasing those tickets.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1744781233labto1744781233ofdlr1744781233owedi1744781233sni@o1744781233fni1744781233
Source link
Add Comment