FIFA President Gianni Infantino made a very positive balance of the first broad edition of the Club World Cup on Saturday, consisting of 32 teams, declaring it “the most successful club competition in the world.”
“The Golden Age of Club Football began. We can say for sure that this Club World Cup was a big hit (…) is already the most successful club competition in the world,” he said at a press conference at Trump Tower in New York, where the football regulatory entity opened a representation office this week.
“We created something new, something that is here to stay, something that is turning the club’s football landscape,” he added on the eve of the final between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea at East Rutherford’s Metlife Stadium on the outskirts of New York.
According to the leader, the organized tournament in the United States “generated nearly $ 2.1 billion ($ 11.7 billion) of revenues in 63 matches, equivalent to an average of $ 33 million per match.”
“No other club competition in the world comes close,” he added, referring to UEFA’s Champions League.
The entity responsible for European football predicted revenues of 4.4 billion euros (R $ 28.7 billion) for its four club competitions by 2024/25 (Champions, Europa League, Conference League and Super Cup).
Response to criticism
Infantino also responded to the numerous criticisms surrounding competition in the United States, from calendar saturation to high temperatures.
As for the numbers of audiences, sometimes very low in some matches, he explained that “he would rather receive 35,000 people in a stadium of 80,000 places than 20,000 in a 20,000.”
“Our numbers are beating records,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that heat is “a real problem,” especially in view of the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Most club cup matches were played with scorching temperatures, which forced the organizers to introduce an interval between each time so that players could cool off, as well as fans in the technical bank.
The heat was exacerbated by the time of the games, which were usually programmed at noon or in the afternoon to satisfy the European hearing.
“We have to think about what we can do best: we introduced breaks for hydration and weir the fields. We have covered stadiums, so we will use them more during the day,” Infantino said.
However, only five of the 16 stadiums planned for the next year’s World Cup have retractable ceilings.
Trump na final
FIFA’s agent also thanked US President Donald Trump and “his team”, who “have been fantastic.”
“Tomorrow he will watch the match,” he added.
Infantino, he assured, moreover, that the regulatory body of world football evaluates future modifications in the Club Cup, whose next edition should be held in 2029, at a headquarters to be defined.
“Of course, let’s get better, there were justified criticism … I heard questions about why there are four Brazilian teams and only two English, for example … Should there be a limit of four teams per country?”
“Therefore, there are many elements in which we can think of the future, but for now we are moving forward with it and then we will see,” he said. “We are living a great moment. Maybe we have not yet noticed, but it’s historical.”
