Fifa is racing against time for the expanded FIFA Club World Cup with ticket sales slow and concerns over burnout among key issues. The football’s governing body is battling to win hearts and mind.
The Club World Cup is taking place in the US this summer and, as the countdown speeds up, key issues are yet to be resolved.
With fewer than 100 days to go, tickets are still available for each match in the tournament, with many fixtures showing large areas of seating unsold according to the Guardian.
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A groundbreaking global broadcast deal between Fifa and the streaming platform Dazn, has yet to translate into sublicensing arrangements with national broadcasters. There is also fury from other competition organisers – the Premier League included – over what is regarded as a land grab and an imposition on a strained fixture calendar.
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At the same time, the Club World Cup stands a real chance of creating a paradigm shift in how club football is played. Upgraded and expanded from the competition that began in 2000, when eight regional champions faced off against each other in a knockout tournament, the Club World Cup this summer will feature 32 teams in a 63-match format that has group and knockout stages and will run for a month.
Chelsea and Manchester City will compete, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter too. These giants will face off against lesser lights of the international game such as the 2022 African Champions League winners Wydad of Morocco and New Zealand’s Auckland City, who qualify by virtue of their ranking as the best club side in Oceania.
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There are still a good number of tickets left at the 25,000-capacity Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando to watch Auckland play Benfica on June 20 should perhaps be expected. There are many tickets available for matches between more recognisably household names, too. As much as a third of the 20,000 Camping World Stadium in Orlando remains unsold for City v Juventus on June 26, for example, while Inter Miami against Porto on 19 June looks like being way too small for that 75,000-capacity stadium in Atlanta, Messi-effect included.
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Kenyans faced setbacks in Nanjing as key athletes exited early, impacting the nation’s medal hopes at the global event.
The pattern of lukewarm sales recurs across the knockout‑round ties. At the same time, however, it acknowledges it is trying to launch a tournament in a country where soccer is at best the fourth most popular sport, and at a time of year when the average American consumer has any number of possible entertainments from which to choose.
Fifa intends to intensify its marketing in the coming weeks, hoping to sway those punters in their decisions, but must first find a replacement for one of its competitors, after the Mexican side León were removed from the competition for a breach of Fifa’s rules on multiclub ownership.President o the
The sporting world is watching every shift in the cup’s development keenly; some with dread, others with anticipation. Adam Kelly, president of the sports marketing giant IMG says there is no question that Fifa is undertaking the kind of project that audiences want to see, even if the risks are substantial.
“I look at this and honestly have to commend Fifa because they are being bold and they’re taking a really significant risk here. I think they’ve got a responsibility to better reflect the industry they are in, especially around product innovation,” Adam Kelly said.
Kelly says he is not surprised that ticket sales are slow for an unfamiliar competition, but argues Fifa has a number of marketing levers to pull before the event, even without an intervention from the White House.
