This World Cup has been an incredible money grift by FIFA, and this continues that trend.
But, this policy change creates a huge concern for spectator safety in outdoor venues. Even though matches are 6pm or later in KC, on hot days temps can still be in the 90's at that time
Exclusive @TheAthleticFC
FIFA make last-gasp change to World Cup stadium rules: BANNING fans from bringing refillable plastic bottles, so fans must buy water in stadia
As of May, empty bottles permitted so fans could refill amid heat concerns. Not now
https://t.co/OuyjvgPoxN
I believe we now have evidence of FIFA's World Cup ticketing shell game: FIFA is colluding with third-party resale platforms for its own supply management.
Look at this SeatGeek map (secondary market!) for Saudi Arabia vs Cape Verde. The circled areas are not random single resale tickets, but large, contiguous blocks of seats: entire rows and swaths in sections 101/102, 112/113, 119/120, 134–137, 139, ...
The blue circles appeared weeks ago, then the purple blocks suddenly showed up a day or two ago, and the red blocks seem to have appeared recently too.
That's not what ordinary fan or even commercial scalper resale looks like who resell pairs, fours, and scattered seats. Instead, this looks like inventory being dumped in bulk onto secondary markets, at prices below FIFA's official site.
Why doesn't FIFA just lower prices on its own site Probably because official price cuts could trigger refund demands, chargebacks, or consumer-protection headaches from fans who already bought at much higher prices.
Instead FIFA keeps official prices high, avoids openly admitting the market-clearing price is lower, and moves unsold inventory through third-party resale platforms instead.
@tomhasideas I got paid to live 2 years in Dallas. It wasn't enough, haha
Job was great, but Dallas is a horrendous area to live in. Fun pockets, but generally-speaking it's not hospitable.
The biggest problem with this World Cup is the pricing and FIFA have fundamentally misunderstood the American market.
They’re asking people to pay American prices for what is largely a rest-of-the-world event. So the few Americans that care enough to spend this money, don’t need hotels because they’re local.
Love this initiative from @toseethewizards
The biggest problem of the game in the USA, even in KC, is access. People need to have places to play, free of fees and free of pressure. Just bring a ball and a good attitude
We want to welcome the world, and we want to show them where to play.
Go to the Google Form on our Linktree in our bio, and tell us where you play.
Help us welcome the world to Kansas City!
@MattFosterTV Premiere League VAR is broken.
If there is one thing MLS is good at, is how they've implemented it. A lot of borrowed experience from American sports allow for discretion- officials still make a final call, and requiring conclusive visual evidence. PL VAR is a bit too much
@Hanka_Ta_Planka Don't mind the Thunder bench outscoring the Spurs bench by 53 points, I'm sure that it's just the whistle that allows OKC to win.
Both teams took 33 FT's btw
Instead of chanting "flopper," Spurs fans should be yelling"OMG GUARD JARED MCCAIN!!!"
🤷🏼♂️
When the only American culture is $$$, it leads to situations like this: Hoping some out-of-town sucker will pay $10k/night for your AirBnB, & then somehow being shocked when the world isn't banging down your door to book it.
Empty cities, empty stadiums imminent for 2026
@stuholden At the heart of why this change hurts the fans, especially in MLS, is that this would be taking away one pillars of soccer that make it different than other major US sports.
I got into soccer BECAUSE of the running clock and pace of the game, especially watching in-person.
Not a fan of this at all.
In the US, spectator sports are usually a 4.5-hour thing with trip to and from a venue. A #SportingKC match is more of a 2.5-3-hour commitment, & a lot more predictable when dealing w/ personal schedules.
Please don't do this @MLS
NEW: MLS has had preliminary discussions with IFAB about potentially trialing the use of a stopped clock during matches, a potentially fundamental, massive change to the laws of the game.
I have more on the Guardian, w/@MattHughesMedia:
https://t.co/jBjYe9DrEk