Best mood in Miami: Young fans of the Boca Juniors from Buenos Aires before the game against Benfica Lisbon.
Photo: DPA/AP/Marta Lavandier
It runs like lubricated: The first matchday of the 2025 club World Cup is over and the tournament in five stadiums in the United States delivers the hoped-for colorful pictures. Unlike the Champions League, the World Cup is not a European private party, but a global pop -up: Tunisian and Brazilian fans besieged in New York the Times Square and ended their slaughter songs. In Miami, thousands of supporters from the Boca Juniors from Buenos Aires conquered the beaches. They christened their happening “Boca Beach” before they claped clapping through Shopping Malls and Walmarts.
In the evening, 55,000 people sang their favorites at Hard Rock Stadium, hours before the game. The Argentinian newspaper “Clarín” raved about the “return of the true fans”. In Argentina, the Match achieved TV switching rates of 34 percent.
The stadiums are mostly filled properly
Mission fulfilled: FIFA has created a new fashion drug with which it now wants to put fans all over the world into an unknown football frenzy. So far, it has been reasonably well run at that new club World Cup tournament with 32 teams from all continents that Swiss FIFA President Gianni Infantino stamped out of the ground thanks to a billion dollar start-up aid from Saudi Arabia. When Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain, the European colleagues from Atlético Madrid 4-0 dumped, 80 619 spectators filled the ranks of the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena. The opening game in Miami with Lionel Messi also attracted almost 61,000 spectators.
But there were also outliers: the group game of Ulsan Hyundai from South Korea against South Africa’s serial champion Mamelodi Sundowns came only 3412 spectators. When the kick-off took place, not even all fans had reached their seats, which is why the US news agency AP initially even reported on 1000 spectators. There was Häme on the Internet: Imagine it is a club World Cup, and nobody goes there!
Europe complains, but the coffers ring
There was criticism from Europe. Maheta Molango, head of the English player union Pfa, criticized the “never -ending schedule” of the professionals and gave the project “An example of abuse of power” by FIFA.
In Cincinnati, Bayern fans protested in the 10: 0 of the Munich against Auckland City from New Zealand with a saying band and “demanded the FIFA!” Jürgen Klopp, who has been working as a red Bull Global boss since January, calls the Klub-WM “senseless” and, above all Work through the summer. ”Red Bull Salzburg, due to the crossing qualification mode, also at the club World Cup, but did not do without his right to start.
The lawsuits from Europe not only collapse at the club coffers, where Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund 23 million and Bayern Munich, even recorded $ 30 million. The six clubs from South America and even Auckland City still receive 3.58 million. At best, the winner waves around $ 125 million. Which club director wanted to say no?
Many players also want the new tournament: Bayern captain Manuel Neuer referred to how colleagues from renowned clubs would like to be there at the tournament, but are not qualified: “It hurts them.”
For clubs from the south, the tournament is a stage
In Europe, you are justified in Europe about the “Arabic-Infantine Invitation Tournament” (“Süddeutsche Zeitung”). From a sporting point of view, it is also a chance for the clubs from the global south: When else can the South African champions present themselves to the world public, who had heard of Al Ahl from Cairo or from Wydad AC from Casablanca before this tournament? Where can players from Esperance Tunis or the Urawa Red Diamonds from the Japanese Prefecture Saitama better increase their market value than with such a competition?
So far, the non -European teams have been able to keep up in a playful way. After the first matchday there was no canteen victory up to the 10: 0 of the Bavarians. Under no circumstances dominated the European teams their opponents from Latin America: Benfica Lisbon only managed a 2-2 against Boca Juniors from Buenos Aires, Champions League finalist Inter Milan against the Mexican CF Monterrey. Even the Saudi team did not go down without a sound on the first match day: Al Hilal from Riad saved himself against Real Madrid to an amazing 1-1.
The club World Cup will remain
You don’t have to be a prophet to predict that everyone wants to be there in the future if a new owner is looking for the trophy covered with 24-class gold every four years. The trophy on which the vain FIFA President Infantino had his name immortalized twice. His FIFA is successful than ever before.
Infantino bought the cutting of the European football union: its Champions League has so far been the most dazzling club football product worldwide, but in addition to the new world tournament, it looks more provincial. The UEFA observes grinding teeth as is scratched on its figurehead. The FIFA tournament has practically lifted the prize explosion out of nowhere in royal class spheres.
From the quarter-finals at the latest, the quality on the playing fields of the club World Cup will continue to rise. The tickets for the games are likely to be rarer and even more people in Germany could be interested in the overseas tournament, especially if Bavaria or BVB were to play a role. Europe mocks over the club World Cup, but complaining about full pockets and overcrowded schedule does not change anything. Latin America swallows the FIFA wonder pill, Africa and Asia curiously, North America just participates. The drug football kicks – even in the summer of 2025.