Top 10 Ticket Stories of 2024: #10 is Soccer! Futbol! Football!

Hey! Hey! 

I will spend some time over the next week counting down the Top 10 stories in tickets this year.

For each, I will link to a few important numbers and stories. 

I’ll offer up some ideas that should help you take action. 

I will break this up into 3 or 4 newsletters…so you can digest this along with your holiday snacks. 

Penny the bulldog has been dislocated from home for a few weeks due to construction. 

So, she’s just making the best of things. 

To the tickets!

Clocking in at 10 on my list:

Soccer! Soccer! Soccer! 

A lot of futbol, football, or soccer…depending on where you are in the world. 

A few things to notice about football this year: 

The 2034 World Cup has been awarded to Saudi Arabia. 

• This World Cup will likely happen in the winter like the 2018 World Cup. 
• No booze is likely. 
• Journalists are writing about human rights concerns, but I don’t know if we will see much difference from what we saw in Qatar. 

This means, hand-wringing and bold statements at the start, but no real follow-through after the initial attention. 

I’m not saying this is right or wrong. 

I’m just saying if you care…you have to keep showing up. 

This comes at the a time when the Saudi Pro League’s attendance has fallen off:

• The opening match of Ronaldo’s season had a lot of empty seats. 
• 390 fans show up for Al Fayha and Al Ryadah. 
• High-profile clubs are only filling about 70% of their seats. 

MLS is the second most attended league in the world: 

• 12.1 M fans bought tickets to MLS matches.
  • 8 games hit 60,000 or more including Miami at Atlanta at the Mercedes Benz Stadium. 

At the same time, Neilsen suggests that ratings for the MLS Cup were not strong. 

• 714,000 viewers across cable and Apple TV. 
• Apple TV??? Reports 65,000! Whoa!?

Messi has had a positive impact on soccer in the US. 

He’s driven people to matches. 

But he’s also created a lot of anger because teams are accused of gouging fans. 

The empty seats at the COPA in the US highlight that Messi drives sales, but soccer hasn’t. 

How should we think about this?

First, awareness will only get you so far. 

Inside of the Messi story, I see a sport that is neglecting the fundamentals of using Messi’s awareness to drive connections with their fans. 

Second, the MLS attendance numbers are great. 

But…

How many of those tickets were people coming through the turnstiles?

How many of those seats were sold to brokers and consolidators? 

Remove Messi from the mix and what happens? 

Third, football is built on stories and rivalries. 

You must take a long-term view of the sport to establish a fanbase and a brand. 

Ronaldo and Messi are great. 

Their impact in Saudi Arabia and America is limited at the moment. 

Tell me what you think in the ‘Talking Tickets’ Slack Channel. 

I’ll preview a few of the upcoming stories from the year:

• In London, West End ticket prices explode! 
• The AFL & NRL blow ticket sales out of the water. 
• People wait longer to buy.
• And, more!!!

Do me a solid: share this post with someone that will benefit!