FIFA has slashed the cheapest seats for the Club World Cup’s opening match between Inter Miami and Egyptian power Al-Ahly to just $55, a 50 percent drop from early May and a fraction of the $349 price fans faced when tickets first hit the market in December. The steep discount underscores worries that Hard Rock Stadium’s 65,326 seats could look embarrassingly empty when Lionel Messi’s side kicks off the expanded 32-team tournament on Saturday, June 14.
Slow start despite the Messi effect
Industry sources familiar with sales quoted in The Athletic say FIFA has moved “tens of thousands” fewer tickets than expected, with suggestions — disputed by FIFA — that sales were stuck below 20,000 late last week. Messi-driven demand routinely sells out Inter Miami’s 21,550-seat Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, but the regional novelty may be wearing thin at NFL-sized prices in a venue 30 miles north.
FIFA, which is running ticketing exclusively through Ticketmaster on a dynamic-pricing model, acknowledged the price cuts in a statement but insisted overall demand “is much higher” than the figures circulating privately. The governing body added that it “anticipate[s] great attendances throughout the competition for this first-ever edition.”
Foreshadowing Pricing Troubles for World Cup 2026?
FIFA, which has already said it plans to use Dynamic Pricing for all matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, had been hoping to see the Club tournament show strong appetite for international football matches a year out from its marquee event. Obviously, this tournament is not the same as one featuring the national pride of qualifying nations at stake, but it’s not a good look with tickets set to go on sale soon for next summers event.
Fans have already expressed shock at the first wave of tickets to go on sale – locked into packages through “hospitality” provider On Location Experiences and featuring prices in the tens of thousands of dollars for some multi-event access bundles.
Dynamic pricing cuts both ways
Dynamic pricing has sent some games spiraling downward. While Inter Miami’s opener is now $55, its second group game — a June 19 afternoon clash with FC Porto in Atlanta — is available for $58, and River Plate’s June 17 date with Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds in Seattle has plunged to $24. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Real Madrid’s group fixtures remain hot sellers: entry for Los Blancos’ June 30 meeting with Al-Hilal in Miami starts above $350.
Prices for marquee contests later in the group stage, such as Inter Miami-Palmeiras at MetLife Stadium on June 26, are still firmly above $100 as FIFA gambles that interest will climb once fans see the tournament unfold.
Was Miami the right call?
Some ticketing analysts question FIFA’s decision to stage Miami’s opener in the club’s home market. At Chase Stadium, Inter Miami fans pay far less than the original Club World Cup pricing to see Messi up close; moving the match to a larger building at NFL-caliber prices may have dulled urgency. Others counter that Miami — with its sizable Latin-American community and built-in Messi mania — remains the logical launchpad for a U.S. event FIFA hopes will rival the UEFA Champions League in prestige.
Big money still on the line
Despite the sluggish start, FIFA is dangling a record $1 billion prize pool, with the champion reportedly in line for as much as $125 million. That jackpot, plus the lure of global bragging rights a year before the 2026 men’s World Cup returns to the United States, has convinced heavyweights Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Boca Juniors and others to field first-choice squads.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino brushed aside concerns in April, pointing to packed U.S. friendlies as proof fans will show up once the games matter. “I’m not worried at all about ticket sales,” he said then. With the opener now ten days away and prices tumbling, the market will soon deliver its verdict.
