2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish Manchester City fans slam outrageous €700 Club World Cup ticket prices
Manchester City fans in Ireland are shunning the controversial new Club World Cup that kicks off this weekend as a money-spinning tournament, it is claimed. With many standard tickets priced at an eye-watering €700, they claim the stadiums at 11 cities across host country America could be an empty embarrassment for FIFA when it kicks off after midnight on Sunday.
Packages for the whole tournament are available for US$29,211 (€25,482) or US$7,463 (€6,510) for both semis and the final. Ireland's No1 Man City fan Gareth Hayes, who his club previously voted as their Fan of the Season, told the Irish Mirror: 'There is not much interest anywhere. Even my mates who would be hardcore fans have turned away. It's too expensive on them. Where do you stop as a fan? It seems to be who has the most money gets a seat. They're talking about costs of €10,000 to go to it. It's money for the clubs.'
The Club World Cup (CWC) has a total prize pot of $1bn (€870m) with the winners to net US$125m (€108m). But football fans claim the revamped 32-team global club tournament has failed to spark their interest. Some, like Mr Hayes, from Westmeath, claim this is due to the high prices of tickets, which went on sale earlier this year. Due to the disillusion of fans like Mr Hayes, hundreds of dollars were knocked off tickets in recent days.
There is now a risk that the controversial new FIFA competition, which was invented by its president Gianni Infantino as a glittering curtain-raiser for next summer's 2026 World Cup, could have thousands of empty seats, it is claimed. FIFA has already announced ticket giveaways to thousands of emergency workers for Los Angeles matches and fans have called for further reductions or free tickets to local schools, which is a practice sometimes undertaken by Ireland's FAI to fill Dublin's Aviva Stadium.
Some ticket prices for the opening match of this new inaugural Club World Cup in Florida between Lionel Messi's Inter Miami and Egyptian side Al Ahly have plummeted. Thousands of tickets on the official selling partner's website are now available for US$55.75 (€48.60) — which is 16% of the original asking price for the 65,000-capacity Hard Rock Stadium in Florida's Miami Gardens.
LA Galaxy are MLS champions but Messi's club Inter Miami, owned by David Beckham, were controversially included in the CWC as the host nation's representative, despite losing in the first round of the MLS playoffs.
A single match hospitality ticket was yesterday priced at US$829 (€723), while standard tickets have dropped from US$347 (€302) to the US$55.75 (€48.60) price in line with FIFA's dynamic pricing system that allows for costs to rise and fall with demand. Tickets for Manchester City's opening fixture against Moroccan side Wydad in Philadelphia next Wednesday are now available from US$51 (€44). Tickets prices for the opening game of fellow English Premier League club Chelsea, which also has a large following across Ireland, is in Atlanta against Los Angeles FC on Monday are now available from US$77 (€67).
Fans of both City and eventual winners Chelsea accused football administrators UEFA of greed in 2021 when the clubs met in the Champions League Final in Portugal. They issued a joint statement to say: 'We stand together against the lies, greed, hypocrisy and deception of UEFA.'
City fan Gareth claimed today that the ongoing disruption in Los Angeles amid accusations at US president Donald Trump's 'authoritarian' administration is not the reason that is deterring supporters, according to fans. He said: 'The Club World Cup won't be taken seriously by any team. It's just an early pre-season and clubs are getting serious money from FIFA for taking part in it.
'I haven't heard of anyone going. I've not heard of any supporters' clubs here in Ireland going to it. I just think it's too much money for these games now. You're doing well just to buy a season ticket or a few away games.' He added: 'I don't think the riots would not put fans off going to LA. It's just that the tournament is not for them. It's too much that the club is asking fans to pay. The club has changed a lot over the last few years. It's hard to even get an email back off them now, compared to the days when they needed fans.'
The CWC sparked legal action threats from the European branch of players' union FIFPro against FIFA amid claims of too many matches for players in a congested fixture calendar. Organisers said ticket sales in more than 130 countries for the CWC, which is estimated to generate a total of US$2bn (€1.74m) in expected revenues, proves the tournament's popularity. FIFA bagged a US$1bn (€870m) worldwide TV rights deal with sports streaming platform DAZN which will broadcast all matches free-to-air.
The CWC opening match is the Group A clash between Al Ahly and Inter Miami at 1am Irish time on Sunday, with the final to be held at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 13.
