Three things fans should have learned from the month that was the FIFA Club World Cup

The FIFA Club World Cup brought a number of surprises in addition to a a little bit more than a microscopic look at the passion that will once again descend on North America this time next year when the larger World Cup arrives.

There was a lot to choose from as a casual observer, but these were definitely top of the heap. So with that said, here’s the Top 3 takeaways from the monthlong spectacle that was the FIFA Club World Cup.

European teams complain … alot.

If it wasn’t the temperatures, it was field conditions. If it wasn’t field conditions it was complaints about too many games in the offseason for their clubs, many who admittedly played well over 50-60 games during its season in advance of the tournament. However, despite a few grumbles about the heat from some of the Brazilian clubs, the gripes largely came from the UEFA-based clubs.

Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham hated the pitches, Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandes said he got dizzy from the heat. Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone complained about the sheer number of matches, so on and so forth. At the end of the day, with many of these clubs splitting purses in the tens of millions, over clubs that didn’t complain and barely made it out of the group stage, isn’t all of these gripes simply the cost of doing business?

Fans in full force

One of the biggest takeaways was that American fans got a taste in real time of the passion that exists when it comes to some of these clubs. Take the UEFA clubs out of it. CONMEBOL clubs, AFCON clubs brought it with songs, smoke, and even at some venues like Lincoln Financial Field brought flares that lit up supporters sections for a large chunk of the game. Take a look at what the supporters of clubs like Morocco’s Wydad AC, Tunisia’s Esperance Sportive de Tunis, or Brazilian clubs like Flamengo, Fluminense or Palmeiras brought to the table.

Photo by Stuart Franklin – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

It was colorful, lively and loud for these matches, complete with fans who traveled from all over the world to watch these clubs for 90+ minutes. It make hearing fans from more known clubs chant “Let’s go, [insert UEFA team here]” seem almost laughable.

FIFA figured out less is more

In advance of the tournament, tickets arguably felt a bit steep for folks fortunate enough to get them off of FIFA’s marketplace. Many tickets across the 11 venues that hosted matches started at well over $100 for matches that wouldn’t move the needle. The dynamic pricing model was not only surprising to see, but a turn-off to many fans who didn’t see the need to drop hundreds on a game in their hometown.

Photo by Carl Recine – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

But something happened over the course of the tournament that was a plus. Prices on almost every market went down considerably. Just how much? Take seeing Chelsea play Flamengo in the group stage in Philadelphia. Cheapest seat in the club section of Lincoln Financial Field an hour before the game hovered around $148. Same venue, same Chelsea team playing Palmeiras in the quarterfinal a week later? $37.50 plus taxes and fees.

Point is, prices went down and the interest of people piqued leading to crowds filling up many stadiums down the stretch. In a tournament in which FIFA is giving out a share of $1 billion to clubs in the tournament plus a promise of an $11 million distribution to the 11 cities that were venues for the event, it was believe FIFA was on track to lose its shirt in this tournament.

Prices coming down might have allowed them to not only keep the shirt but also consider doing something similar for the World Cup. Will they, probably not but the last month proved that it’d be a smart thing to at least consider.