TA: Cheapest tickets for the Club World Cup semi-finals dropped from $473.9 to $13.4 in 72 hours

03:00 on July 9) The standard admission ticket price for Chelsea in the semifinals of the Club World Cup against Fruminense at the Metropolitan Life Stadium dropped to just $13.40 this Saturday, compared to $473.90 less than 72 hours ago).

This is the latest attempt by FIFA to increase venue attendance. FIFA President Infantino hopes to show the attractiveness of the first expansion of the Club World Cup to clubs, broadcasters and sponsors. He does not want the stands of the game to be empty. It also means that tickets to this semifinal may be cheaper than buying a cheese steak ($15) or a beer ($14) at the Mets Stadium, while tickets to the lower stands, which are typically more expensive, have also dropped to $44.60 in Chelsea’s match against Fruminense.

The Athletic also learned that FIFA tournament volunteers received an email last week that they would receive four quarter-final tickets, but not including Real Madrid's match against Dortmund at the Metropolitan Life Stadium. Although the volunteers may be grateful for the arrangement, it does not seem like FIFA had planned in advance with the volunteers before the game. Anonymous volunteers said they had been told before that there would be no free tickets for this Club World Cup. Volunteers who received quarter-final tickets were asked not to wear uniforms when watching the game, probably to avoid confusion among live audiences (FIFA did not respond directly when asked if this request was also to make volunteers look like paid audiences).

FIFA adopted a dynamic pricing model during this Club World Cup and used Ticketmaster as the official ticketing platform. During the event, ticket prices often fluctuate significantly and are often lowered. For example, the cheapest standard admission ticket for the first semifinal of the Metropolitan Life Stadium next Tuesday was initially $473.90. By lunch time on Friday, the ticket price dropped to $44.60, and at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, the ticket price dropped to $27.90 again. By 1:22 pm, the cheapest tickets had been reduced to $13.40. This means that the price of a football fan buying tickets on Saturday may be only 2.8% of the FIFA standard admission tickets three days ago. When asked if fans who bought tickets to support teams and events earlier would receive a refund or discount, FIFA did not give a clear answer, and when asked if it was fair, FIFA did not respond.