FIFA President Gianni Infantino brushed off criticism over World Cup visa issues and sky-high ticket prices in a defiant eve-of-tournament press conference.
Speaking in Mexico City ahead of the World Cup’s opening game at the Estadio Azteca on Thursday, Infantino launched a spirited defence of the organisation of the 48-team extravaganza being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Infantino and FIFA have come in for stinging criticism over the eye-watering costs of World Cup tickets while Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has seen a top referee, Iranian team officials and fans refused entry to the United States.
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Infantino insisted that tickets to the tournament – which in some cases have topped US$30,000 (AU$43,000) – had been priced appropriately, citing a small number of US$60 tickets that were made available in response to criticism.
“Let me just say that our entry price, which is 60 dollars, is the lowest entry price of any of the American sports in the play-off phases,” Infantino said.
“Our average price which is below 500 dollars is again the lowest of the American sports on average.”
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Infantino also played down the controversy surrounding Somali World Cup referee Omar Artan, who was refused entry to the United States after arriving in Miami last Saturday following security concerns raised by US immigration authorities.
FIFA has since confirmed Artan, who the US State Department later said had “associated with suspected members of terrorist organisations,” will play no part in the tournament.
“It is unfortunate what happened to the referee from Somalia,” Infantino said.
“We don’t control everything… Sometimes it’s good to chill, relax, we work on everything, we try to solve everything.
“Sometimes to immediately start screaming and shouting has the opposite effect of finding a solution.”
The FIFA leader also portrayed Iran’s participation at the World Cup in the midst of its military conflict with the US as a victory for his organisation.
“People were saying Iran couldn’t come to the World Cup,” Infantino said.
“There are challenges, it’s not easy, but I don’t know who else would have been able to ensure in these circumstances — which we could not influence — Iran could come and play.”
Infantino’s close relationship with US President Trump has also come under scrutiny in the build-up to the tournament.
But Infantino maintained Trump had played a critical role in World Cup preparations.
“Without his engagement and involvement, I think it would have been, simple as that, impossible to organise a World Cup in the United States,” Infantino said of Trump.
In Washington on Wednesday, Trump confirmed he plans to attend some World Cup matches, without providing details.
“I spoke to Gianni this morning… he said there’s never been anything close” to the success of the coming tournament, the US leader said.
Meanwhile, concerns were rising that Thursday’s opener between hosts Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City could be disrupted by social unrest.
On Tuesday, protesters blocked an avenue leading to the Estadio Azteca although lines of police prevented the demonstrators from reaching the stadium.
Thousands took part in the demonstration following a week of action that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has called a “provocation.”
Sheinbaum insisted that “everything is under control” for the curtain raiser.
The spectre of Mother Nature disrupting the tournament also reared up on Wednesday, with England’s final World Cup warm-up game against Costa Rica delayed after a thunderstorm hit Orlando, Florida.
Torrential rain and lightning flashes forced the kick-off in the game to be delayed, echoing the problems that marred last year’s Club World Cup, where several games were disrupted by weather.
With most teams now already arrived in North America, minnows Haiti were embroiled in controversy just days ahead of their opener against Scotland after being forced to change their kit design.
Haiti were ordered to find another kit after it emerged the team’s shirts depicted the Battle of Vertieres in 1803, which secured Haiti’s independence, violating FIFA rules.
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US coach’s bizarre interview with Sesame Street star
Two days before the United States’ first World Cup game, coach Mauricio Pochettino only took questions from one intrepid reporter – and it was Sesame Street’s Grover.
“Have you ever tried to motivate the team with snacks?”
The manager gamely played along, even if he appeared slightly perplexed to be chatting with a fluffy blue monster puppet, yards away from where his team were beginning a critical training session.
If the interview content was not exactly hard-hitting, the broader strategy was clear. The co-hosts are pulling out all the stops to win over fans, who may be needed to energise players in the days ahead.
Earlier this week, Argentinian coach Pochettino kicked off a public training session by grabbing the microphone and leading 5500 fans in “USA! USA” chants at the team’s training base in Irvine, California.
“For the players it is so, so, so amazing and so important to receive your warm energy and all your love,” he instructed supporters.
“I think they need to introduce all this energy that you are going to send today, and share with us after on the pitch, on the field, to perform.”
Other unorthodox efforts to reach Americans who don’t always follow soccer this week included a fashion photoshoot with Flaunt magazine, featuring midfielder Malik Tillman in a vast mushroom-shaped couture hat.
“It’s been sent around the group chat a few times… there’s some questionable pictures!” defender Chris Richards told reporters on Wednesday, with a laugh.
“Ultimately it’s about exposure. I’m always up for expressing ourselves in different ways,” added fellow centre-back Mark McKenzie.
Commercial obligations aside, courting the American public could deliver marginal gains that may be useful as the US tackle a fiercely competitive Group D including Friday’s opening opponents Paraguay, Australia and Turkey.
Though the US would be assured of playing every game on their own soil if they progress to the knockouts, raucous home support has not always been guaranteed for the team, whose fans are often outnumbered by away fans due to the country’s enormous immigrant and diaspora communities.
In the Gold Cup final last year, the US lost in a Houston stadium overwhelmingly packed with rival Mexico fans. The semi-final in St Louis, Missouri, was a sea of light blue for their opponents Guatemala.
Rand Getlin, the documentary filmmaker who spent four years following the US team for HBO series ‘U.S. Against the World’, recently told AFP it is a huge concern for American players.
“It devastates them. It hurts them. It makes them sad. They’re disappointed in themselves for not giving fans more to cheer for,” said Getlin.
Though some high-priced tickets for the US games remain unsold, the excitement has grown markedly more palpable in Los Angeles in recent days, with bars and billboards promoting watch parties to customers already wearing their favoured teams’ kits.
Whoever lies in wait in the last-32 round and beyond, the American players have talked frequently this week about drawing on the energy of home fans.
“Being on home soil, number one, it’s a dream come true,” US winger Timothy Weah told reporters Wednesday.
“Obviously there’s gonna be pressure because you’re the host and your fans want to see you shine. I think that makes it only more beautiful.”
Pochettino echoed those words, suggesting that fans could be an even more powerful tool for motivating his players than Grover’s suggestion – which was “chocolate cake”.
“I think (our) massive inspiration is to make proud our fans, our families, the people that we love,” he said