The empty seats at the 2026 World Cup are not a mystery. They are the visible result of a tournament priced, packaged and managed for maximum extraction rather than genuine supporter culture. FIFA may still make record money, and Gianni Infantino’s political machine may remain perfectly fed. But the gaps in the stands reveal something the attendance figures cannot hide: football’s richest event can still look strangely poorer without real fans.
Author: Alex Reusch
I live in a small city in Switzerland, right next-door to Zurich. I am German, but born and grown up in Switzerland. Professionally, I am in the IT-business for over 25 years. I have plenty of hobbies and interests, which help me to relax, after a stressful day.
I am very much into:
- Photography
- Football (talking about it)
- Motorcycles (love my MONSTER)
- Electronic gadgets
- Technology
- Music (love my Piega’s)
- Weird movies
- F1 (I go totally nuts about it!)
I am passionate about almost everything I do. My motto is:
“Do it with PASSION or not at all”
Euro 2028 may be the Tournament that Saves Football’s Soul
The 2026 World Cup already feels like a tournament drowning in bureaucracy, border politics and institutional cowardice. Euro 2028 could be the antidote: close, reachable, fan-centred and rooted in football cultures that still understand the game as a public ritual, not a corporate asset. If UEFA keeps its promises, the tournament may remind Europe that football belongs to supporters before it belongs to executives, sponsors or airport officials. Quite rightly.
The World Cup sells the Names. The Knockouts will test the Bodies.
The 2026 World Cup will be full of famous names no longer playing at the sharpest edge of European football. Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar and others may still sell tickets, dominate weaker opponents and provide the tournament with its mythology. But the knockout stage is less sentimental. It does not reward memory, aura or golden contracts. It asks what is left when time, space and legs disappear.
How Premium Manufacturers can Survive the Age of Disposable Software
Modern cars are no longer merely machines. They are software platforms with wheels, batteries, cameras, processors and update cycles. That changes the economics of premium ownership. If a car’s digital core becomes obsolete long before its body, engine or chassis, permanence becomes theatre. The premium car of the future must therefore be designed not only to endure, but to be upgraded.
Sports Journalism wants the World Cup Question, But Not the Answer
European football media keeps asking players whether they should speak about the FIFA World Cup 2026. But the real question is whether sports journalism itself has the courage to face what this tournament has become: a politically contaminated event shaped by war, exclusion, hostile entry conditions, security fears, absurd prices and a broken contract with the fans. The question is allowed. The debate is not.
The unfair Beauty of Summer in Zurich
In Switzerland, spring does not gently become summer. It switches. Suddenly the lake is no longer scenery, the Limmat becomes part of the day, and Zurich turns into something almost unfair: international yet intimate, efficient yet relaxed, urban yet surrounded by water, hills and colour. In early summer, beauty is not a destination here. It becomes part of ordinary life.
Booking.com has a Security Problem. Its Support Process is Part of it.
A phishing message used real Booking.com reservation context to push a fake credit card verification page. Reporting it should have been simple. Instead, the official support path led through booking bureaucracy, hidden contact options and finally an email asking for the reservation PIN. After a breach involving customer data, Booking.com appears less like a platform prepared for cyber abuse and more like one still searching for the right department.
Is Manuel Neuer the Answer, or the Symptom?
Germany is not really debating Manuel Neuer. Germany is debating whether its old certainty is still safer than its unfinished future. Neuer may still offer the world-class ceiling needed to win a World Cup, but at forty he also brings fragility, hierarchy problems and the risk of one decisive mistake. Baumann offers competence, not greatness. The question is whether Germany is choosing its best goalkeeper, or merely returning to the last answer that once worked.
FIFA did not fight the Black Market. It became the Dealer.
The 2026 World Cup should have been a football festival across three countries. Instead, FIFA’s own ticketing platform looks like an official resale casino with hospitality lounges attached. After comparing today’s obscene prices with my own tickets from Germany 2006 and Brazil 2014, the conclusion is simple: FIFA did not fight the black market. It became the dealer.
The FIA has found the cure for F1. The disease continues until 2030.
Formula 1 appears to have found the cure for its over-electrified mistake, but the treatment is scheduled for 2030 or 2031. Until then, fans are asked to endure several more seasons of clipping, energy management and artificial yo-yo racing. The planned V8 return is good news, but also an indictment: the sport already knows the current formula is wrong. It just refuses to stop running it.
alexreusch 