Dismal ticket sales, grumblings from fans and clubs – is FIFA’s latest attempt to establish a global

Discussion in 'USA Men' started by GoodHands, Jun 10, 2025.

  1. GoodHands

    GoodHands Member+

    AC Milan
    United States
    Jul 17, 2024
  2. Ghost

    Ghost Member+

    Sep 5, 2001
    No one wants this.
     
  3. Pcp Yoko

    Pcp Yoko Member+

    Jun 2, 2002
    Mid Peninsula
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The big FIFA cash grab.
     
  4. soccer_23

    soccer_23 Member

    Feb 6, 2014
    It’s a massive and rare opportunity for teams outside of Europe, and they seem to be very into it.
     
  5. GoodHands

    GoodHands Member+

    AC Milan
    United States
    Jul 17, 2024
    Who wants it? I have seen not one players say they want to play in this joke. Their clubs have asserted their authority and the players are going. The players hate to lose, at least most of them, so the games will be entertaining.
    But, except for FIFA, no one really wants it as a competition. The people involved want the money but they do not want the tournament. Even the MLS players are loudly complaining that they're not getting a large enough share.

    I will most defiantly watch the Club WC and I will also watch the Gold Cup but I do not expect much soccer from the Gold Cup and I expect even less, from a "fun" point of view, from the Club WC. My main hope for both of these is, no serious injuries for anyone so when the real soccer resumes the matches will be as entertaining as possible.
     
  6. NietzscheIsDead

    NietzscheIsDead Member+

    NO WAR
    United States
    May 31, 2019
    NO WAR
    They contacted me to work as a volunteer.

    I got about halfway through the process and saw what they wanted from their volunteers and I checked the eff out. They acted like it was a privilege to work for them without getting paid. No thanks FIFA.
     
  7. GoodHands

    GoodHands Member+

    AC Milan
    United States
    Jul 17, 2024
    Way, way ,way back in high school I was "volunteered" to be an "usher" at a Dallas Cowboys game. I was only 14 at the time and did not know better. After that HORRIBLE experience I made a vow that I would NEVER volunteer to do any task for a for profit company for free and would demand a reasonable wage even for non-profits. I have made a few exceptions over the years but most entities like FIFA only ask for volunteers if they are looking to abuse the position.
    FIFA, and the USSF for that matter, claim to be non-profit (I am not sure about FIFA but they are corrupt enough for me to believe anything) but they are really for profit and for all the profit they can drain from an event.
    I actually hope they cannot find enough volunteers and have to actually pay people to do the dirty jobs but I am quite sure they will get all the volunteers they want as the is the USA and "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the USA's population."
    Good job turning down the robber barons.

    BTW: One of the exceptions I made was to coach a U10 rec team and I stuck with that team through U17. I think many more trained coaches should do things like that as the coaching kids receive is really bad. I can no longer do that, health reasons, but I still act as an advisor for a few area teams. It is really discouraging to see kids standing in lines waiting for a chance to kick the ball. :(
     
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  8. Mantis Toboggan M.D.

    Philadelphia Union
    United States
    Jul 8, 2017
    I mean if you're Auckland City (a semi pro team whose players have other jobs) and you're getting ready to play Bayern, Benfica and Boca Jrs of course that's cool as hell. Same to a lesser extent for the players and fans on the other CONCACAF/African/Asian teams but the wear and tear this is putting on the players is ridiculous.

    If FIFA really wants this they should go back to the old 8 team format and compensate by playing it every year.
     
    soccer_23 repped this.
  9. NietzscheIsDead

    NietzscheIsDead Member+

    NO WAR
    United States
    May 31, 2019
    NO WAR
    Any for-profit organization who tries to acquire workers without pay should be treated with disdain.

    The Dallas Cowboys hire how many millionaires every year and they can’t come up with a pittance for an usher? Pretty gross. Same thing goes for FIFA.
     
  10. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No, they are not.

    Ask yourself this question: if they’re for profit, who owns them? Who are the shareholders who invested money and are therefore entitled to dividends?
     
  11. soccer_23

    soccer_23 Member

    Feb 6, 2014
    They’re still continuing to play the old annual tournament as well. Rebranded as the Intercontinental Cup, with the final rounds this year to be played in Saudi Arabia in December 2025.

    This new Club World Cup will be played every four years and is intended to get more teams involved and more games for each team. In addition to making more money, of course.
     
  12. song219

    song219 BigSoccer Supporter

    Apr 5, 2004
    La Norte
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Vanuatu
    If a non-profit has more revenues than expenses they will have an "increase in net assets" but unlike profits which is the corresponding term for profit enterprises, there is no one to lay claim to the increase.
     
  13. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    But the USSF is NOT like, say, the endowment fund at Harvard or similar schools, where the fund is so big it can’t realistically be spent. If the Fed made big profits it wouldn’t have had to get a donation to pay Poch.

    Non profit isn’t a synonym for good and pure, and profit isn't a synonym for bad and corrupt.
     
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  14. adam tash

    adam tash Member+

    Jul 12, 2013
    Barcelona, Spain
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    at this point, hopefully, the CWC is a dud and the USMNT bombs at the world cup and we can finally get rid of dogn grabber

    and gut the ussf as well
     
  15. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Why would you want to get rid of Garber, who is the best American sports executive since the first half of David Stern’s tenure, if not since Pete Rozelle??? Do you hate success?

    Further, what does that have to do with this FIFA event?
     
    Mantis Toboggan M.D. and jaykoz3 repped this.
  16. GoodHands

    GoodHands Member+

    AC Milan
    United States
    Jul 17, 2024
  17. jaykoz3

    jaykoz3 Member+

    Dec 25, 2010
    Conshohocken, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Is that the primary market or the secondary market? Those are two entirely different things. For tickets to be on the secondary market they would have had to have been bought from the primary market first. I've seen a lot of people bragging about how awful the ticket sales have been, and how the prices are now. When asked where they are seeing the super low prices, the response is StubHub, TickPick, SeatGeek....... the prices on Ticketmaster (FIFA's official ticketing agency) are still at the regular going rates.
     
  18. GoodHands

    GoodHands Member+

    AC Milan
    United States
    Jul 17, 2024
    It seems to me that the secondary markets have pre-bought tickets with the intent to resell them but they don't move so they drop prices. The "official" site is not reducing prices because they are delusional and "think" the sales will pick up.
    But i really don't care much as i will not be going to soccer matches any more except for the few that are a very short distance from where I live. I am too old to handle the noise and crowds. But i do find it absurd that the prices are so high and I know of several people that were planning to go to one or more matches and have canceled because they are priced so high, these people do not trust "secondary" markets, and they are convinced that the clubs involved are not taking this pseudo-tournament seriously so they cannot justify spending hundreds of dollars going to glorified club friendlies.
     
  19. diablodelsol

    diablodelsol Member+

    Jan 10, 2001
    New Jersey
    Way way back when I was in highschool I volunteered to be an usher at a tom petty concert. My main instructions were to keep people in my section from smoking weed. I proceeded to get high with them and then acted as a lookout (flashing my flashlight at them) any time ushers or the cops were headed towards the section.

    My favorite volunteer experience ever.
     
  20. Ghost

    Ghost Member+

    Sep 5, 2001
    My guess is that the WC will have similar problems with some games. Americans are not going to pay top dollar to go see Jordan play Curacao.

    Then 64 teams will be e rn more of a train wreck. P
     
  21. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If we ever get a 64 team World Cup, it’ll be like 2002 except more. By that I mean, there will be 32 teams playing in, say, England, and another 32 teams playing in Morocco, with the semifinals and final in Brazil. Something like that.
     
  22. song219

    song219 BigSoccer Supporter

    Apr 5, 2004
    La Norte
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Vanuatu
    Garber is the symbol for those who don't like American soccer. You can tell them a million times that he is the employee of MLS owners but it won't matter.
     

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