For many fans, the dream of seeing an American World Cup match live is a clash with the brutal financial reality. This is clearly visible in ticket price lists.
Although FIFA announced the cheapest tickets to the group stage, starting from USD 60, in practice obtaining them is almost impossible. Rates in official sales are regularly astonishing, and mid-range seats for group matches can cost from several hundred to over 1,000 dollars.
The discussion on this topic has spread all over the world. Even US President Donald Trump himself has publicly admitted that prices exceeding PLN 1,000 dollars for the Americans' match are surprising and “he wouldn't have paid that much himself.”
However, the real madness can be seen with premium category tickets and on the secondary market. Second-hand ticket prices for the final match start at PLN 9,000-10,000. dollars, and the most expensive packages can reach astronomical amounts of several dozen thousand dollars. The World Cup final has become as expensive as the ongoing NBA Finals series.
In addition, there is the so-called dynamic pricing, i.e. dynamic pricing depending on demand and enormous hidden costs. Parking alone at the stadium in cities such as Los Angeles or Dallas costs around $120-250. in the evening.
For a European fan who has to add flights and hotels, a trip to the World Cup in the USA has become a luxury available only to the richest.
Everyone knows the deal
While in the case of private entrepreneurs, such as restaurateurs or hoteliers, raising prices on the occasion of a large event should not be surprising (it is a normal practice not only in the USA), a bit more should be demanded from local services and public operators.
The thing is that even public transport for the next month has turned into something that the average person will associate with great luxury.
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It has swept the media in recent weeks discussion about NJ Transit, the public transport operator between Manhattan and New Jersey. This is where MetLife Stadium is located, the facility where the World Cup final will be played.
Originally an agency NJ Transit announced that a return ticket from Penn Station in Manhattan to the stadium will cost as much as $150 (while the normal price on this route is $12 and 90 cents). After a wave of enormous outrage and political pressure, thanks to the acquisition of sponsors, the price was reduced to $98 fare. This is still almost an eight-fold increase.
Alternative shuttle bus access costs $80. If someone decides to buy a car, the price will be prohibitive – there is no public parking lot for fans at the stadium itself. You have to leave your car at a nearby shopping center and pay $225.
FIFA de facto divides the match into quarters
Summer in the United States or Mexico, especially in some regions, means very high temperatures. These are very tiring weather conditions for the players. It is therefore not surprising that during one 45-minute half of the match they will need a short break to have a drink.
Such breaks are nothing unusual. They took place four years ago in Qatar, they even happen in Polish Ekstraklasa matches, if the referee deems it appropriate. Usually, a few dozen seconds of such a break is enough. There is no controversy here.
However, in December last year, FIFA decided that during the just starting World Cup breaks will last as long as three minutes and will be obligatory. Regardless of whether the stadium is hot or not.
Each half will be interrupted for three minutes, which will mean that instead of two halves of 45 minutes, the football match will last four quarters of 22.5 minutes each. And of course, you will be able to play commercials during each break.
Reuters points out that forced breaks in play “are another example of how the World Cup become similar to American sporting events, full of advertisements and glitter.
In turn, during the break of the final match, a concert by Colombian singer Shakira is planned, which quite clearly refers to the famous Super Bowl, organized by the National Football League.
FIFA says its approach to fluid breaks results from concern for the players' health. But there is also a second meaning.
Ads like the Super Bowl
Michael Johnson, a market research analyst covering the U.S. sports industry at S&P Global, told Reuters that introducing hydration breaks could be “extremely valuable to advertisers and could potentially generate Super Bowl-level bids of $7 million to $9 million.”
Advertisers are well aware of the exposure they can gain from the World Cup – the final match between Argentina and France in Qatar in 2022 attracted a total of 1.42 billion viewers.
“American viewers are accustomed to the NFL or NBA-style model, i.e. division into four quarters. They are accustomed to breaks during the game. This World Cup is basically a reflection of those formats” Johnson said.
In Poland, there will probably be no advertising during hydration breaks. The regulations do not allow the public broadcaster to interrupt the transmission with an advertising block.
