The CWC is coming, 32 teams and some of the world's biggest superstars, for what could be a seminal moment for the U.S. game
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The drama over the Club World Cup started in full back in June 2024. Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti made his thoughts on the competition known.
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"FIFA forgets that player and teams will not participate in the new Club World Cup. A single Real Madrid match is worth €20 million and FIFA wants to give us that amount for the entire tournament. Negative. Like us, other clubs will refuse the invitation," he told Italian media.
That same day, both he and Madrid walked back the comments. Just kidding, the Club World Cup means a lot.
"Our club will compete, as planned, in this official competition that we face with pride and with the utmost enthusiasm to make our millions of fans around the world dream again with a new title," Madrid said in a statement.
And so began the debate over FIFA's revised club tournament, played out in the open. In the 12 months since, further questions have been raised – and FIFA has been relatively adamant it has the answers. Prize money? Lots of it. Tickets? Cheap(ish.) Publicity? Not a problem. Will fans care? Of course.
Some of the biggest names in the game will transplant to the United States next month. The event will be played in 12 stadiums in 11 U.S. cities, from the opener on June 14 until the final on July 13. Real Madrid and Man City are the early favorites, according to the oddsmakers, followed by PSG, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Inter Milan – major European clubs competing in America.
Top level soccer hasn't been this accessible in the U.S. since the 1994 World Cup.
More broadly, of course, this feels like a warmup for a far bigger event – the 2026 World Cup, in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The Club World Cup has seemed hastily thrown together in some senses, but also well-executed at others. And although some of the messaging around it has been confusing, and its political implications are concerning, there is no doubt that soccer's governing body intends to make it a hallmark event and proof of concept for soccer in America.
The big question currently unanswered is simple: will it all work?
Getty Images SportA World Cup warmup
From one perspective, what we have here is a warmup of sorts for the 2026 World Cup. All of the basics are in place: a load of teams, formatted into groups. Everyone plays each other once. Various cities are hosting, with associated training hubs. The final is expected to be a marquee event, held (across the river from) a glitzy city.
FIFA has toyed with the idea of an expanded club World Cup for some time, but in the United States, this summer, it found the perfect opportunity to execute it. This is, in many ways, a marriage of convenience. The U.S. can use the event as a logistical test for hosting the 2026 World Cup, and build soccer excitement throughout the nation. FIFA wants a country willing to take on what is a large and complex project.
It's a perfect match.
And everything has felt like a dry run. FIFA has pushed this whole tournament like it is THE World Cup. The trophy is a bit of an ostentatious thing, a cylindrical block of Tiffany gold that needs to be unlocked with a specially designed key. It has been toured all over the world, accompanied by soccer legends. Ronaldo Nazario was present for a high-profile draw event, complete with a red carpet event in Miami.
The host cities were announced not via a press release, but at a music festival in New York's Central Park, a baffled Hugh Jackman trying to explain the appeal of this whole thing while FIFA president Gianni Infantino boomed "CIN-CIN-NA-TI" into a microphone in front of thousands of drunk 20-somethings, mostly there to see Post Malone (although it's fair to debate which was better entertainment.)
AdvertisementJ.LEAGUEThe fans
The biggest concern with any tournament that exists outside of the traditional soccer schedule – and isn't a major international competition – is fan interest. Supporters will flock to watch any of the club teams participating during their normal windows. From Wydad Casablanca to Real Madrid, there will always be fans in the stands when the games matter in a traditional setting.
Home stadiums, these days, are tourist destinations, not cathedrals of sport. That is a good thing for clubs, of course. Account for the match-going public, and throw in the tourists, and you have a full-capacity venue.
But part of the reason that these stadiums are packed, complete with (mostly) excitable atmospheres is the fact that the games matter. There's appeal in the journey, drama and jeopardy. How, exactly, fans will respond to the Club World Cup is unknown. It depends, to some degree, on how much teams value the trophy – and as importantly, the massive pot of cash available to them.
If Jude Bellingham tackles like he wants $50 million to go towards Trent Alexander-Arnold's salary, then the fans will likely have something to cheer for. But if these games are slower affairs played out in the American heat, then that signature matchday intensity might be hard to replicate.
Yet simultaneously, FIFA can point to the numbers brought about by preseason friendlies. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United, Juventus, Liverpool, Milan and any number of European giants routinely travel to the United States in the summer. Those games regularly sell out. There is, it seems, always an appetite for European teams playing in America.
Ticket pricing, of course, complicates things. FIFA has been outspoken about the relative affordability of prices, with tickets starting at just $30 for "category four" matches. The organizing body has tried to drum up excitement while unveiling of prices, saying fans are "encouraged to act early, as tickets will go fast." But not all tickets prices are created equal. A seat at the final costs $635.55 (the game is sold out.)
Getty Images SportThe money
One of the central questions FIFA faced in piecing together this whole thing was getting teams to care, to truly compete. How could they separate it from the usual preseason friendlies played out in the U.S.? How could they ensure that these aren't just casual kickabouts played out in the searing summer sun?
These will not be friendlies in which the likes of Lionel Messi, Vinicius Jr., Erling Haaland, Cole Palmer, Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe get brief run outs – or so we are told. One of the potential solutions was the reported hefty fines set to be levied towards teams that didn't start their first team players – or elected to leave the big names at home.
One thing has been made abundantly clear: there is a of money on the line here. The big fat number you need to know is: $1 billion. Or, as Infantino put it, "biggest-ever prize money for a football tournament." And he's not wrong. Piece it all together, and the CWC winner will receive up to $125 million. The 12 European clubs will get between $12.8M and $32.8M each, just for showing up. MLS sides Inter Miami and Seattle Sounders will collect nearly $10M each.
The narrative is that the money will be enough of a motivator. Infantino is pushing astronomical sums here. In theory, clubs will want the cash. It can certainly be argued that some of the teams who could otherwise be in financial bother – looking at you, Chelsea – actually need it.
Broken down, each team will collect $2M per win, and $1M for a draw. For context, Manchester City brought home $230M for winning the Premier League in 2024. Champions League winners tend to pocket around $180M. This is not the same as completing a 38-game slog, or 15-game, high-intesity slate against all of the other best teams in Europe, but there are certainly massive amounts of money up for grabs.
And beyond the money? There is incentive, at various degrees, for clubs to collect silverware.
"I think we often ask these questions, and when it comes to it, we always find out that they do actually care," ESPN FC analyst Kay Murray told GOAL this week. "In this day and age, everybody wants whatever they can call silverware. What might be deemed less important silverware to the outsider is pretty much always important to those inside the club."
gettyThe politics
FIFA have, in many ways, played this perfectly. Infantino understands the celebrity, the glitz and the glamor. He has tried, in every way, to appeal to the Americanness of it all. Big events, big stadiums, a big trophy.
“You get the best of the best as Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe will be there, so will Leo Messi and many many others," Infantino said last month. "The 32 best club teams and at stake is an incredible trophy, but the money we’re talking about is $1 billion as prize money for the winning team. First time, we’re organizing an event like that, first time there will be a club truly crowned world champion by FIFA."
But he has also realized how it can all work from the very highest place and down. The FIFA president has repeatedly appeared next to President Donald Trump, and showcased the Club World Cup trophy from the Oval Office. Trump owns the power here, establishing and chairing a 2026 World Cup task force, which Infantino has routinely praised.
With all of the reported concerns over fan attendance, visa issues and security around next year's event, the Trump administration will affect the way that this tournament is executed and perceived. Ivanka Trump, too, was involved in Club World Cup preparations, appearing at the draw for the tournament at the end of last year.
This could also have significant implications. Relationships are tense between the U.S., Mexico and Canada at geo-political levels. And FIFA is facing pressure about the 2026 World Cup after a top human rights organization said it has “grave concerns” about Trump's border policies affecting the tournament, according to POLITICO. Human Rights Watch urged FIFA to be “prepared to reconsider the hosting decision” if the safety of fans and players can’t be guaranteed.
The White House has pledged that World Cup travel will be a smooth process for visiting supporters.
“Every part of the U.S. government will be working to ensure that these events are safe and successful, and those traveling to America to watch the competition have a seamless experience during every part of their visit,” Trump said during a World Cup task force event last week. “It’s going to be very special.”