Watch Messi for cheap at Club World Cup? FIFA offering discounted tickets to some students

New York Times

a day ago

FIFA's latest attempts to fill Hard Rock Stadium for the Club World Cup opening match between Inter Miami and Egyptian team Al-Ahly involve offering students at an affiliated local college a single ticket for $20 — but with the promise of up to four complimentary tickets.
The Athletic last week revealed the launch game, which takes place on Saturday night, still had tens of thousands of tickets unsold for a match likely to star Lionel Messi for MLS side Inter Miami. Hard Rock Stadium has a capacity of 65,326. FIFA denied that fewer than 20,000 tickets had been sold for the match — insisting the number was 'much higher' — but they did not specify the number.
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Now, however, email promotions have been sent out to those connected to Miami Dade College, which announced a collaboration with FIFA in April 2024. This involves students being given the chance to intern at FIFA's Miami office, while FIFA's museum loans exhibits to the college. Miami Dade College has more than 100,000 students currently enrolled, according to the announcement made by FIFA of the partnership one year ago.
An email promotion sent out says that FIFA, in collaboration with Miami Dade College, is 'providing up to four complimentary tickets to the opening match of the FIFA Club World Cup with the purchase of one ticket at the reduced student price of $20.' Those who respond are asked to submit their Miami Dade College email when using their purchase. If they secure the five tickets, then they are essentially able to watch Messi for just $4 a seat, which is a bargain for the local community but a long way away from FIFA's original expectations when pitching this tournament as the most coveted trophy in world club football.
As reported previously by The Athletic, FIFA has sold general sale tickets for the revamped 32-team Club World Cup under a dynamic pricing model, a system whereby prices fluctuate based on demand, and the slumping prices for certain games are indicative of FIFA's struggles to sell out stadiums.
As of last Tuesday, Inter Miami's game against Al-Ahly had dropped to $55, according to prices on Ticketmaster, the portal FIFA is using to sell tickets for the tournament. This was half of what they were available for in May, while tickets were $230 for the cheapest seat in January and $349 after the draw in December. FIFA is now hoping that the reduced prices will draw people in during a publicity blitz in the final week before the tournament.
Despite the $20 offer for the affiliated college, the cheapest seat available on Ticketmaster tonight was $69.15 for an 'obstructed view.' It is not known how many tickets have now been sold for the game, but it is clear that FIFA is now taking every possible step to avoid any perception on Saturday night that the tournament is not in demand.
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FIFA sources, speaking anonymously as they were not authorized to talk publicly on the matter, said that the organization has a strong relationship with the college and see it as a positive to extend the offer to their students to see world-class soccer on their doorstep.