Manchester City don't know what the cost of the Club World Cup will be but their supporters already have reason for celebration
Comments
Sport
Manchester City fans show their support in the stands before the Club World Cup final vs Fluminense in Jeddah
Manchester City fans show their support in the stands before the Club World Cup final vs Fluminense in Jeddah
Manchester City do not know how lucrative or costly the Club World Cup will be for them. However they fare in the United States over the next four weeks can only really be viewed at the end of May when they intend to be in Hungary for the Champions League final.
Pep Guardiola was never going to turn down the invitation to appear in this summer's prestigious tournament and the club were not going to turn down the money offered, yet there is work to do to avoid it causing more physical and mental problems with overworked players who slumped last season with physical and mental issues. They know the danger, they just don't know how well they can avoid it.
One set of early winners from the Club World Cup though could be the City fans, who have made their voices heard over the past 12 months and managed to achieve a freeze in season ticket prices and a significant reduction in matchday tickets for next season. The club deserve credit for listening to the concerns, but it is easier to listen to them with the income they know they are getting from the Club World Cup.
"I think the senior management team at City have been surprised at the backlash over the changes to season tickets," football finance expert Kieran Maguire told the Manchester Evening News. "They also acknowledge that Manchester City has a traditional working class fanbase.
"It's not a dig at other clubs, they just don't have the same tourist appeal as other clubs, and therefore they have to listen because there's not the same queue of people willing to replace the regular fans because they want a once-a-season experience. This reflects economics.
"It also reflects the fact that Manchester City are popular with sponsors and are popular with broadcasters because they deliver in terms of the quality of the football and the trophies and sponsors want to align their products alongside trophies. City are going to make a minimum of £50m, potentially close to £100m from the Club World Cup.
Article continues below
"They can do that in four weeks. They make just over £70m from ticket sales for the whole year, so by focusing on alternate revenue streams it allows them to make this step."
Watch the Club World Cup free on DAZN
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Content Image
Content Image
£0
DAZN
Get DAZN here
Some would say City have merely brought down prices that had been inflated too much, but a reduction does feel against the grain of how football has been going. In recent years clubs have looked at competitors to hike up their own prices, with United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe saying that season tickets at Old Trafford should not be cheaper than they are at Fulham - despite the West London club being surrounded by houses that are far more expensive.
While City's reduction in matchday ticket income is welcome then, Maguire does not expect it to help the fans of any other clubs in dragging prices down. However, it does show the value in organised protest even if not all owners will be as impacted by City's by them.
"Rightly or wrongly you're wedded to City or United for life, so football clubs are monopoly suppliers," he said. "If they take a monopoly approach they will try to rinse fans for the maximum amount of cash that they can if the objective is to maximise revenue and profit.
"I don't think that is the case at Manchester City, it certainly hasn't been the case historically. When I first moved to Manchester in 1980 it was £1.30 to watch City and £1.40 to watch United.
Article continues below
"Both clubs historically have acknowledged where they were with the local demographic. Manchester United have moved to another space, that's not a criticism but a reflection of their success and popularity. City have owners who have different objectives and have a different demographic in terms of their fanbase.
"Price reductions shows what adult, organised, non-violent direct action can do because it's embarrassing for Manchester City to have walkouts. It's embarrassing when fans don't turn up for the first nine minutes and I don't think the owners want that.
"Whereas perhaps at other clubs they just shrug because the owners don't have an emotional connection to the club, it is purely a fiscal relationship so provided people pay the owners don't care. I think City are sensitive to that, which is good."