Fears America is falling out of love with football after sluggish ticket sales... plus Sir Alex Ferguson given red carpet treatment by surprise club

Daily Mail​

4 hours ago

Is America falling out of love with football?
Earlier this week, FIFA decided to slash tickets again for the Club World Cup and it would appear that ticket sales for the Premier League 's Summer Series are sluggish, at best.
Three game days are being staged, with two fixtures at New Jersey 's MetLife Stadium, Chicago's Soldier Field and Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
These are three huge venues, although a line-up of Manchester United, Everton, Bournemouth, and West Ham United does not look to have set pulses racing across the Atlantic.
Vast swathes of tickets remain available for all three events, which take place at the end of July and start of August and is, perhaps, a worrying sign ahead of next year's World Cup.
Premier League insiders insist sales will increase in July as part of typical purchasing trends, and say they are getting positive feedback from the market on how ticket sales are tracking.
Last week, fans of Chelsea and Manchester City, the two English sides heading to Club World Cup, received emails informing them that, as they purchased their ticket early they would be receiving 'a partial refund as a token of appreciation for your early commitment and support'.
One Chelsea supporter, who bought six tickets for the last-16 and four for the final, received $596 back.
Red carpet rolled out for Sir Alex
Sir Alex Ferguson was at the Champions League final as a guest of Paris Saint-Germain.
The legendary Manchester United manager, 83, was given the red carpet treatment in Munich, and appeared to be on fine form.
Onlookers overheard him telling friends that 'these are the occasions I miss the most'.
Ticket price apology
Blackburn Rovers have been forced to email all of their Championship rivals and apologise after charging away fans £2 more than home supporters for matches at Ewood Park last season.
Those in the away end were not given the option of a digital ticket and, as such, were subject to a £2 'administration charge' for a paper equivalent.
Following discussions with the EFL, Blackburn wrote to all of the second-tier's other clubs to 'apologise for this inadvertent price discrepancy' and add that the issue has been rectified for the coming season.
Will Bach be backseat driver?
The coronation of Kirsty Coventry as President of the International Olympic Committee is only days away, but Olympic observers are intrigued as to whether outgoing President, Thomas Bach, will hang around.
Fears that Bach will become a backseat driver for Coventry's administration have been fuelled by rumours that the German will be taking up an office in the Olympic capital of Lausanne as part of his ongoing commitments to various Olympic roles which he will retain.