Tickets for Chelsea vs Fluminense slashed to less than the price of a beer as FIFA seek to avoid empty seats at Club World Cup semi-final

Football fans wanting to head to MetLife Stadium for Chelsea's Club World Cup semi-final against Fluminense on Tuesday can now snap up tickets for less than the cost of a beer at the ground.

Prices for standard admission to the match were slashed to just $13.40 (£10.50) on Saturday, a fraction of the $473.90 (£373) that fans were being asked to pay less than three days earlier.

The price cuts, which were first reported by The Athletic, mean supporters could pay less for a ticket than for a pint of beer at MetLife, where a cold one can set you back $14 (£11).

The dramatic price drop comes as FIFA battles to avoid swathes of empty seats at the newly expanded Club World Cup in the United States.

The tournament, being held for the first time in its new 32-team format, has seen fluctuating crowds, with some group games witnessing tens of thousands of empty seats despite heavy promotion.

MetLife has already hosted five matches at this summer's tournament with widely varying attendances. While 76,611 fans packed in to watch Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund on Saturday — the biggest attendance of the Club World Cup so far — other fixtures have struggled to draw similar crowds, with figures including 35,179 (Palmeiras vs Al Ahly), 39,893 (Porto vs Al Ahly), 34,736 (Fluminense vs Dortmund) and 29,321 (Fluminense vs Ulsan).

Tuesday's semi-final will be the sixth of nine matches to be staged at MetLife during the tournament, with FIFA keen to ensure a strong turnout.

To boost attendances, FIFA has employed a dynamic pricing model, resulting in ticket prices swinging wildly in the build-up to matches. Prices for Chelsea's clash with Fluminense initially remained high but tumbled sharply over the weekend, while tickets in the lower ring — typically among the most expensive — also dropped to around $44.60 (£35) for the game.

In a further effort to improve attendance, FIFA volunteers were offered complimentary tickets for quarter-final matches last week, despite some being told earlier that free entry would not be available.

The pricing strategy has left some early buyers frustrated, with fans who purchased tickets at the original high prices now seeing seats available for as little as three per cent of what they paid. FIFA has not confirmed whether those who bought tickets earlier at inflated prices will receive any refund or discount.

Despite the challenges, the recent round of fixtures has seen an uptick in crowds, with Chelsea's quarter-final win over Palmeiras nearly selling out Lincoln Financial Field, and PSG's victory over Bayern Munich drawing close to 67,000 fans in Atlanta.

FIFA is under pressure to demonstrate the tournament's viability to clubs, broadcasters and sponsors ahead of future editions, with president Gianni Infantino keen to position the expanded Club World Cup as a major fixture on the football calendar.

The governing body has invested heavily in promoting the Club World Cup, including a substantial marketing budget in the US, and is planning to use a similar dynamic pricing model for next summer's men's World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.