The president of FIFA (International Football Federation), Gianni Infantino, said on Thursday (12) in an interview with AFP that the Club World Cup marks the beginning of a historic “New Age” for football, and compared it with the first World Cup of selections of 1930.
Two days from the beginning of the new tournament in the United States, Infantino has rejected criticism of FIFA’s ticket sales policy and predicted that skeptics as to the need for this competition will quickly change opinion.
The Club World Cup, which will have 32 participants from all continents, will open the curtains on Saturday (14) with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami receiving the Egyptian Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium.
“A new era of football is beginning, a new age of club football. It’s a little like when the first World Cup started in 1930,” Infantino said in the interview in Miami, Florida.
“Everyone is talking about that first World Cup today. That’s why this World Cup here is also historic,” he said.
Unlike the pioneering event held in 1930 in Uruguay, in which 13 American and European nations participated, Infantino pointed out that this new World Cup will allow teams away from traditional football centers to compitate in a global scenario.
“We want to be inclusive. We want to give opportunities to clubs around the world. It is really about globalizing football, making it truly global,” he said.
“If we look more deeply, we say it is the number one sport in the world, and it is, but the elite is very concentrated in very few clubs, in very few countries,” he added.
The Swiss leader also valued that the tournament will feature players of over 80 nationalities.
“Countries that would never have the opportunity to play in a World Cup suddenly are part of a World Cup and feel they are part of it,” said Infantine, who cited as an example stars of the past that never played a World Cup.
“A very good friend of mine is George Weah … An old legend, great player, the only African footballer who won the Golden Ball. He never played in a World Cup. He would have played a club World Cup and would have not only his team, but also his country, were proud,” he said.
“Security is top priority”
During the conversation, Infantino ruled out concerns that the tournament would further overwhelm the already busy soccer calendar.
Stars like Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane or Erling Haaland will see their prolonged seasons as they participate in the competition, which will extend to the final on July 13.
“I am convinced that as soon as the ball begins to roll, the whole world will realize what is happening here. It is something special,” said Infantino.
Reports on low ticket demand for some matches have generated criticism of the policy of so -called dynamic prices, increasingly common in events in the United States, which allows the value of inputs to oscillate according to demand.
Infantino defended this approach and the decision to offer great discounts to students in Miami.
“They criticize FIFA if prices are very high and then criticize FIFA if the prices are very low,” he lamented. “Then they criticize FIFA if we make students tickets with students. When I was a student and had no money, I would have loved FIFA to tell me: Want to watch a World Cup match?”
“We don’t want to see empty stadiums. I believe the stadiums will be quite full,” he predicted.
The leader stated that the tournament, which ceded the transmission rights to the Dazn streaming platform for a value reported about $ 1 billion ($ 5.5 billion), is already a financial success and emphasized that the profits of trade agreements would be reinvested in sports.
The World Cup will begin in the context of protests in the United States against migratory operations launched by President Donald Trump’s government.
Six group stage matches will be played on the outskirts of Los Angeles, California, a city that has lived violent clashes between protesters and police in recent days.
“Safety for me and us is always a top priority. So when something happens, such as in Los Angeles, we are obviously monitoring the situation, we are in constant contact with the authorities, we want fans to watch matches in a safe environment,” infantile said.
