June 16 – FIFA has been forced into logistical gymnastics at the Club World Cup, shifting spectators around stadiums to ensure television broadcasts give the illusion of packed stands – a visual necessity as its new-format tournament struggles to ignite enough local interest to fill stadiums.
Ahead of the opening matches in the United States, many fans had their seats reallocated to sections directly facing broadcast cameras in a bid to project full-capacity crowds. FIFA insists this is “standard practice” and beneficial to the atmosphere. In reality, it’s a scramble to avoid embarrassing optics for a tournament already viewed by many as a commercially driven vanity project.
Sources close to the event confirm that fans are being relocated within the same ticket price bands, or even upgraded, to mitigate backlash. In some cases, early buyers have been issued partial refunds after FIFA slashed ticket prices to fill seats.
The opening game between Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and Egypt’s Al Ahly – a 0-0 stalemate at the 65,326-capacity Hard Rock Stadium in Miami – exemplified the issue. Students at a local college were reportedly offered bundles of five tickets for as little as $20 (the student price for the 5 ticket offer was $3.50). That’s a steep drop from the original entry-level price of $349 when tickets first went on sale.
The reported numbers (if they are the true figures) tell the story. Across five games played so far, only one has come close to a sell-out:
Inter Miami v Al Ahly (Hard Rock Stadium) – Capacity: 65,326 | Attendance: 60,927
PSG v Atletico Madrid (Rose Bowl) – Capacity: 89,000 | Attendance: 80,000
Palmeiras v FC Porto (MetLife Stadium) – Capacity: 82,000 | Attendance: 46,275
Seattle Sounders v Botafogo (Lumen Field) – Capacity: 62,000 | Attendance: 30,000
Bayern Munich v Auckland City (TQL Stadium) – Capacity: 26,000 | Attendance: 21,000
Despite FIFA’s insistence that the tournament will “unite the world’s best clubs,” the early signs suggest more effort is being spent on optics than delivering truly competitive or compelling football. With the knockout stages looming, FIFA need more than camera angles to hold global attention.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1750088355labto1750088355ofdlr1750088355owedi1750088355sni@g1750088355niwe.1750088355yrrah1750088355