Fifa’s inaugural Club World Cup set to kick off in the US amid challenges

LOS ANGELES – Fifa’s billion-dollar gamble to revolutionise club football begins on June 14 with plenty of cash up for grabs but questionable enthusiasm, as 32 teams prepare to contest the expanded Club World Cup in 12 stadiums across the United States.

The tournament – designed as a glittering showcase ahead of the 2026 World Cup which is co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada – has had to contend with the prospect of empty seats along with controversial qualification rules and player welfare concerns after an exhausting European season.

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami face Egypt’s Al Ahly in the opening fixture at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, with tickets still widely available days before kick-off. Fifa’s website shows lots of available tickets, including for the July 13 final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.

Messi’s presence underscores the tournament’s contentious foundations. Miami gained entry by topping Major League Soccer’s regular-season standings, despite losing in the first round of the play-offs – a decision critics say shows Fifa’s desperation to have the Argentina great at their inaugural showpiece.

Fooball’s world governing body’s decision to give the host nation a spot and award it to Miami underlined the opaque nature of the qualifying criteria for the tournament, which will not feature Liverpool, Barcelona or Napoli, who have all just been crowned champions of three of the most prestigious leagues in Europe.

Apart from the winners of each confederation’s premier club competitions, teams qualified according to a ranking based on their performances over a four-year period.

There is also the case of Club Leon, the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup winners, who were excluded from the tournament just over a month ago due to having shared ownership with another qualifier.

Nailing down a last-gasp US$1 billion (S$1.29 billion) TV rights deal with sports streaming platform Dazn six months before the tournament means a total of US$2 billion in expected revenues.

That led Fifa to announce a total prize pot of US$1 billion, with the winning club to receive up to US$125 million. That figure represents around 25 per cent more than Paris Saint-Germain earned from their entire 17-match Champions League winning campaign.

But this largesse has not quelled concerns about player welfare, with global players union Fifpro taking legal action against Fifa over a tournament that further compresses the precious recovery time between gruelling seasons.

Furthermore, there is still concern over the playing surfaces after the 2024 Copa America, when many headlines focused on the sub-par conditions and smaller pitch dimensions.

Fifa has given assurances that this time the National Football League stadiums hosting the matches will meet their specifications, confirming that all venues will feature natural grass and adhere to the standard regulation dimensions of 105 by 68 metres.

Divided into eight groups of four teams, top contenders include Real Madrid, winners of six of the last 12 Champions League titles, German champions Bayern Munich and 2023 English Premier League and Champions League winners Manchester City.

European champions PSG are the in-form team heading into the tournament after their historic 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan in the Champions League final on May 31.

But they must survive a tough Group B featuring South American and Brazilian champions Botafogo, 2022 Concacaf champions Seattle Sounders and Spanish giants Atletico Madrid.

For Fifa, the tournament represents a dress rehearsal and a referendum on America’s appetite for the sport and on the world governing body’s vision for its commercial future ahead of the 2026 World Cup. REUTERS