 "Was the 32-team FIFA Club World Cup a success? Here's what the numbers suggest")
The inaugural edition of the 32-team FIFA Club World Cup came to an end on Sunday, 13 July, with Chelsea defeating reigning French and European champions Paris Saint-Germain to be crowned champions. Cole Palmer starred in the triumph with a brace while Joao Pedro joined the goal fest with a 43rd-minute strike, all three goals coming in the first half, as Enzo Maresca’s pulled off one of the greatest triumphs in Chelsea’s history.
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Chelsea’s emphatic victory at the Metlife Stadium over the red-hot PSG, who had demolished Real Madrid 4-0 in the semi-finals to storm into the summit clash, marked the end of the first of two major football events that are set to take place in the United States.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, for one, was delighted at how things panned out in the first edition of the global tournament to feature 32 teams.
“The golden age of club football has started. We can definitely say this FIFA Club World Cup has been a huge success. We heard that financially it would not work, that nobody is interested, but I can say we generated almost 2.1 billion dollars in revenues, for 63 matches,” Infantino had said on the eve of the final.
“That makes an average of $33 million per match – no other club competition in the world comes close. It is already the most successful club competition in the world,” he added.
Was the 32-team FIFA Club World Cup a success?
The tournament that previously featured the six continental champions along with one club representing the host nation and took place during winter has been met with mixed reception, with the likes of former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp describing it as the “worst idea ever implemented in football”.
As for the attendance, the average turnout at the Club World Cup stood at 38,369, which is lower than the FIFA World Cups that have taken place since the 1962 edition in Chile.
There were questions over how well the tournament would be received in the US, which hosted the 2025 entirely by itself and will co-host next year’s FIFA World Cup along with Mexico and Canada.
However, the reason for low turnouts in several matches doesn’t just boil down to America’s lack of interest in soccer compared to the ‘Big Three – American football, basketball and baseball. Kickoff times were also cited as a reason, with several games taking place in the middle of the week.
There were over 1 million empty seats across the 48 Club World Cup group stage games 🏟️
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) June 29, 2025
Total announced attendance was 1.67 million from a 2.95 million capacity. pic.twitter.com/9XHsfk9Rxy
There was also the question of players’ bodies breaking down due to fatigue, with the tournament taking place right after the conclusion of the hectic 2024-25 season when players would normally be enjoying a break and playing the occasional exhibition match before preparing for the next season.
Runners-up PSG, for one, had little time to breathe, having demolished Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final a couple of weeks before facing Atletico Madrid in the opening match of the Club World Cup.
With the football calendar getting increasingly overcrowded with each passing year, the 32-team Club World Cup has added to concerns on player workload.
“I try not to think about it, otherwise I will be so anxious,” Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was quoted by The Guardian as saying ahead of his team’s last-16 match against Al-Hilal on 30 June.
“Maybe in November, December, January, ask me. I may say ‘So listen, we are a disaster. We are exhausted. The World Cup destroyed us’,” he added.
The next edition of the Club World Cup takes place in 2029, with the tournament becoming a quadrennial affair. FIFA, meanwhile, will be turning its attention to the World Cup that takes place in North America next year, with the United States slated to host the lion’s share of matches.
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