12 Comments
User's avatar
Martina Zavagno's avatar

I didn’t even know Club World Cup was a thing…

Jordan Wise's avatar

haha fair… maybe you’re not fifa’s target market but still, wild that something this big flew under the radar completely!

GarrinchaCF's avatar

This is bad for both players and clubs, not to mention fans, who'll pay absurd sums for tickets, and surely in that fascist country there will be many problems (originated by ICE) regarding foreign supporters coming from abroad. One more time, shame on you FIFA.

Jordan Wise's avatar

100% Garrincha! Between inflated prices, travel headaches, and zero local engagement, it’s hard to see who this is really for.

Héctor Montiel Romero's avatar

Agreed, this tournament is a terrible idea. It has no soul or meaning. Like you said, just one year before the World Cup in the US, this should be a great appetiser, but there's no hype or expectations around it. There's always gonna be challenges in a first edition, but this is beyond that, the whole thing feels pointless. I think we're gonna see a kind of pre season tour

Jordan Wise's avatar

Exactly Héctor. It’s giving pre-season tour with a FIFA badge slapped on. Just flight miles and burned-out players. The only thing getting exercised is the fans’ wallets for overpriced tickets.

Ehud Riven's avatar

Abomination of a tournament. Like the 48-team World Cup. Like FIFA's attempt to get a World Cup done every 2 years. I really hope the Club World Cup is a massive failure in terms of ratings and attendance.

Jordan Wise's avatar

Totally hear you Ehud. There was potential here, but the execution missed the mark. If it struggles, hopefully it’s a wake-up call to build with fans and culture at the core next time.

Misha Verollet-Dahncke's avatar

Spot on about the event itself. And the current administration is not helping by scaring off tourists. This will reverberate up until the world cup next year if nothing changes.

Jordan Wise's avatar

Nice one Misha. You can’t throw a global party when no one feels welcome at the door. That energy carries, all the way to 2026.

Carolynne Alexander's avatar

Brilliant article and you're right, 12 cities is insane.

They did something similar with the Cricket World Cup and recovery from travelling was a killer. Plus, the range in support between cities was obvious in the stands. If they're asking folks to travel with their team too, imagine the cost of travel. Not a great move.

It should be one city, one message, one theme. All pulling together to bring footie to the US on a scale never seen before.

Jordan Wise's avatar

Exactly Carolynne. You can’t build hype across 12 zip codes. One city. One vibe. One moment. That’s how you turn a tournament into a movement.