FIFA lowers prices for Club World Cup opener as projected attendance looks weak

FIFA officials have lowered ticket prices for the Club World Cup’s opening match — a contest between Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami and Al Ahly FC — over concerns that potentially scores of empty seats could overshadow the game. Tens of thousands of seats have yet to be sold to the game, according to The Athletic, which is set to take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on June 14 and would be the first official match of the 32-team tournament being held across the United States. Hard Rock Stadium, home to the Dolphins, has a capacity of 65,326, and The Athletic reported that fewer than 20,000 tickets may have been sold for the match between the MLS side and the Egyptian club, though FIFA pushed back on that number in a statement. Still, sources informed The Athletic that soccer’s governing body grew concerned over ticket sales not doing as well as expected in recent weeks. The Club World Cup will feature teams from the top leagues across the globe, including powerhouses Chelsea, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. FIFA has been selling tickets for the Club World Cup using a dynamic pricing model, which means prices can spike or drop based on demand. The cheapest ticket for the Inter Miami Match against Al Ahly was just $55.75 on Ticketmaster when The Post searched late Wednesday night. Those tickets were listed at $230 in January, according to The Athletic.But prices for games involving other teams have gone the opposite way, such as matches involving Real Madrid, where ticket prices are in the hundreds of dollars. “We are introducing many new, successful clubs from all over the world to the world through this tournament being staged in the 11 cities across the United States.

Overall, we anticipate great attendances throughout the competition for this first-ever edition — a tournament that we believe will grow edition-on-edition,” FIFFA told the outlet in a statement.FIFA announced the training sites for all 32 ...