Ticket prices for Tuesday’s FIFA Club World Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Fluminense at MetLife Stadium were slashed from $473.90 to just $13.40 in three days, the steepest drop yet in a tournament marred by vast swaths of empty seats and last-minute fire-sales.
FIFA has used dynamic-pricing throughout the 63-game competition, causing significant sales issues. This strategy involved significantly surged ticket prices during the early sales period, then dramatic price-cuts when all but the biggest fans opted against paying those prices for games across the country.
For those early-buying consumers, that has meant paying hundreds of dollars more than fans who waited. The cheapest seats for Wednesday’s other semi-final—Real Madrid or Borussia Dortmund against Paris Saint-Germain—were listed at $978 when group play closed, only to tumble below $200 by Saturday.
PRIOR COVERAGE | FIFA Club World Cup ticketing strategy draws fire over empty stadiums |
| FIFA cuts Club World Cup Ticket Prices as dynamic pricing strategy implodes |
Freebies for volunteers, frustration for fans
As sales lagged, FIFA quietly emailed tournament volunteers offering up to four complimentary tickets for every quarter-final except Real Madrid-Dortmund. Volunteers were told not to wear their uniforms so they would “appear as paying spectators,” according to internal messages reviewed by The Athletic.
Asked whether fans who purchased at the original prices would see any refunds for their overpayment, FIFA declined to answer, saying only that “variable pricing has been implemented … and will continue to be adjusted based on demand and availability.” Ticket sales troubles were obvious from the start of the tournament – when nearly 50,000 chairs sat vacant in Atlanta. Similar scenes followed elsewhere as midday kickoffs, soaring introductory prices and sparse local marketing kept buyers away.
Warning signs for World Cup 2026
Despite the Club World Cup headaches, FIFA intends to employ the same pricing model for next summer’s 48-team men’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Supporter groups fear a repeat of the current fiasco on a far larger stage, with knockout-round seats projected to run into the thousands of dollars before fees.
While the price ranges for tickets has not yet been revealed for next year’s event, the prices for “hospitality” packages through On Location stunned fans when they were announced. Bundling tickets to multiple matches with things like pre-match food and beveage perks or perks, the packages begin at over $5,000 per person, soaring as high as $73,200 for a package including tickets to the World Cup final next summer.
Consumer impact
For early adopters, the rapid markdowns amount to a financial gut-punch. A Chelsea supporter who purchased two upper-deck seats for $950 total on Wednesday would find identical tickets listed for $26.80 in Saturday’s flash sale — a 97 percent loss in value — effectively rewarding procrastination and penalizing loyalty.
“This so-called premium, algorithm-driven model violates an implicit contract between [the performer] and fans,” wrote Christopher Phillips in a Backstreets Magazine editorial critical of Bruce Springsteen’s use of the price-surging systems for his tour dates with the E-Street Band — triggering fan anger so great that the 40-plus year old fan magazine decided it would stop publication entirely.
Similar pricing practices for Oasis reunion tour dates landed that band in hot water with both its fans and regulators in the United Kingdom, who recently announced legal action could be in the works against Ticketmaster over the pricing policies in place for the sales process.
Attendance still soft
Deep discounts have helped, but not solved, the optics problem. Quarter-final crowds ticked up—Chelsea-Palmeiras in Philadelphia hit roughly 95 percent capacity—yet the tournament’s average attendance still hovers around 35,000, well below NFL-style capacities FIFA insisted upon.
With Real Madrid drawing more than 60,000 for each appearance, the governing body remains confident marquee brands can paper over emptier fixtures. But critics argue the strategy ignores regional fan bases and basic supply-and-demand realities.
What’s next
Both semi-finals will unfold in East Rutherford on weekday afternoons, followed by championship and third-place matches over the weekend. Ticketmaster listings suggest thousands of seats remain for every game except a potential Madrid final.
As of Monday morning, semifinal match ticket prices for members at wholesale ticket resale marketplace TicketClub.com start at $44 for Tuesday’s tilt between Fluminense and Chelsea and $226 for Wednesday’s Paris Saint-Germain vs. Real Madrid match. Finals tickets start at $302, though that number will depend greatly on demand following the semifinals and what teams make it through.
