FIFA slash Chelsea tickets to less than cost of a beer in bid to swell crowd
Ticket prices for Chelsea's Club World Cup semi-final clash against Fluminense on Tuesday have been slashed, with fans now able to attend the game for less than it would cost to buy a beer at the stadium.
A standard admission ticket was reduced to just $13.40 (£9.81) on Saturday, having been priced at $473.90 (£347) less than three days earlier. And that means the tickets are cheaper than the cost of a beer at the MetLife Stadium where the game is being held, which is priced at $14 (£10.25).
According to the Athletic, the move comes as FIFA look to bolster the tournament's attendances with Gianni Infantino hoping to 'demonstrate proof of concept' to clubs, broadcasters and sponsors.
FIFA have come in for criticism for using dynamic pricing for the tournament, while former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has claimed the expanded Club World Cup is the "worst idea ever implemented in football" due to the extra demands on players
Speaking to German outlet Welt, Klopp said: "The Club World Cup is the worst idea ever implemented in football in this regard. People who have never had anything to do with day-to-day business or who no longer have anything to do with it come up with something.
"I understand those who say 'But the money you get for participating is insane'. But it's not for every club. Last year it was the Copa and the European Championship, this year the Club World Cup, and next year the World Cup.
"That means no real recovery for the players involved, neither physically nor mentally. Of course, they all earn a lot of money. But let's leave that aside for a moment. An NBA player who also earns really good money has four months off every year.
"Virgil van Dijk hasn't even had that in his entire career. Tournaments like the Club World Cup cannot be held on the backs of the players. I don't wish that on anyone, but I have a big fear.
"That players will suffer injuries they've never had before next season. If not in the next season, then it will happen at the World Cup or afterward. We constantly expect the lads to go into every game as if it were their last.
"We tell them that 70 or 75 times a year. But it can't go on like this. We have to make sure they have breaks, because if they don't get them, they won't be able to deliver top performances in the long run – and if they can't do that anymore, the entire product loses value for the sellers.
"I once had a pre-season of two and a half weeks in which all my players were at my disposal. Two and a half weeks – and then we played practically every three days for a year afterwards. That's brutal."
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