High Ticket Prices, FIFA Corruption and ICE Concerns: Why Fans are Saying “No” to the Club World Cup originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has described the Club World Cup as “historic”, “a new era for club football”, “transformative” and “inclusive”. Fans are describing it very differently – with three major concerns leading the backlash.
High ticket prices is the first big issue deterring fans from attending games and the most often heard complaint.
“Ticket prices have been a joke, even to see Man City in the middle of the day.”
“I’d rather go to multiple league games. Better value.”
“The cost is too high for a family of four.”
The responses come as The Guardian newspaper posed a simple question to its readers. “US-Based soccer fans: are you going to a Club World Cup game this summer? Fans on other forums took the bait and chimed in.
Is the CWC Safe for Fans?
The second major complaint is the concern about safety and security, which was exacerbated by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency posting that it will be “suited and booted” for games. CBP caused further confusion by later deleting the post. Fans took note with some extreme sentiments:
“People aren’t talking enough about FIFA agreeing to ICE and CBP patrolling the stadiums”
“The matches are political shows to kidnap brown people, many of whom will be disappeared”
“The gestapo is running security. The event deserves to fail”
FIFA can’t shed it’s reputation
Finally, FIFA is a victim of its own reputation for corruption and greed and the third complaint focuses on that.
“I’ll pass on the money grab that will lead to tired and injured players”
“I refuse to support FIFA in this money grab”
“The Corruption World Cup symbolizes everything that is wrong with football today”
The optics of empty stadiums would be an embarrassment for Infantino, and FIFA has already begun slashing prices for some games. But the damage has been done when it comes to security fears and FIFA’s reputation and many fans are actively rooting for the tournament to fail.
Related: Calls to Boycott 2026 World Cup Surge After Trump-FIFA Scandal and New Travel Ban
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 14, 2025, where it first appeared.