- Only 20,000 tickets sold for Messi’s opening match in Miami
- FIFA slashes ticket prices by 85% with new student offer
- Stadium likely to remain half-empty despite $4-per-seat promotion
Key Takeaways:
FIFA has taken desperate steps in an attempt to salvage the opening match of the Club World Cup. The tournament kicks off in two days in Miami, where local side Inter Miami, featuring Lionel Messi, is set to face Egyptian giants Al Ahly.
Despite the presence of a star like Messi and the fact that it is the tournament’s curtain-raiser, only around 20,000 tickets have been sold so far. This means the 65,000-capacity Hard Rock Stadium is expected to be half-empty.
FIFA’s latest attempts to fill Hard Rock Stadium for the Club World Cup opening match involve offering students at an affiliated local college a single ticket for $20 — but with the promise of up to an additional four complimentary tickets. pic.twitter.com/bmNra82K8z
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 11, 2025
Even an 85% reduction in ticket prices failed to fill the stands, and FIFA’s latest move is being seen as an act of desperation. If you are a student at one of the local universities, you can now buy a ticket for just $20 and receive an additional four tickets for friends. The promotion effectively brings the cost of each seat down to just $4. A negligible price for the opening match of FIFA’s new super tournament.
Despite the new promotion, expectations are that the impact will be minimal. Few believe there will be a wave of students rushing to the Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday night. In January, tickets were being sold for as high as $349. Due to low demand, prices gradually dropped to around $50 for a decent seat at the stadium.