Friday, June 13

Ahead of the start of the Club World Cup this weekend, Sports Mole asks fans from around the globe what they think about the much-debated competition.

The re-modelled and expanded Club World Cup will get underway in the United States this weekend, and opinions remain very mixed about FIFA's intentions with the new idea, and whether it is something that will catch on in the long run.

Over the past 20 years, the Club World Cup has been a brief competition in December that is always won by either the UEFA Champions League holders, or sometimes the Copa Libertadores winners, and truth be told, it received very little coverage in many European nations, especially when the UEFA entrants were not from that specific country.

In order to rejuvenate the competition, FIFA have decided to invite 32 teams this time around, and switch it to a quadrennial event, making it truly like a World Cup, but for club teams.

Still though, interest in Europe in particular does not seem to be particularly high, and there have been reports that locals in the host nation, USA, are not taking much notice either, with plenty of unsold tickets still available for each game.

With FIFA trying to deny it is simply a money grab, even though Saudi Arabia are largely behind a lot of the financing of the tournament, it is somewhat ironic that the opening game of the tournament will feature Inter Miami, a money-spinning franchise that are only here because FIFA invited them to perhaps help with exposure, as a certain Lionel Messi will be turning out for the Florida-based club.

Opinions vary all around the world, and here, Sports Mole have compiled the thoughts of numerous football fans and experts from around the globe about what they think of the upcoming tournament, and what it could mean for the sport on different continents.

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Darren Plant, Chelsea expert

At the end of an exhausting 57-game season, the last thing that Chelsea need is another schedule that could potentially last a month. There is also the possibility of repercussions for next season, with the Blues already facing the prospect of a heavily-reduced pre-season.

With challenging for the Premier League title and featuring in the Champions League during 2025-26 the priority, this competition feels like a distraction for Chelsea, yet an attractive one with there being a sense of intrigue over how they will match up among the elite after two seasons away from such company.

Providing that Chelsea win Group D, it is plausible that they would face Benfica or Boca Juniors in the last 16 for the chance to face Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain - that would represent a good measuring-stick ahead of next season, one which Maresca may want.

The club's owners will also want to recoup as much prize money as possible to further strengthen their improving position with the relevant financial regulations, as well as seeing an extended run boost their profile. All in all, there are plenty of positives to take, but it will send Chelsea into the unknown with regards to tiredness and match sharpness if they return from the United States with just a matter of weeks before the start of the new Premier League season.

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Oliver Thomas, Manchester City expert

European critics of the newly-expanded Club World Cup format say that it has further congested the football calendar and may risk the health of players heading into the new season, while the extortionate ticket prices have put a lot of fans off attending the tournament in the United States.

Indeed, the additional expenditure on flights, hotels, food and other necessities must all be considered by fans travelling across the pond, but none of this will come cheap and that is where the issue lies with many football lovers.

From Man City’s perspective, it has become increasingly expensive for supporters to follow their team who have been competing in multiple competitions and have reached several domestic semi-finals and finals at Wembley Stadium for more than a decade.

Nevertheless, those fortunate fans who will don the sky-blue jerseys in stadiums, and those watching on from home, should have reason to get excited by the new Club World Cup, a tournament which represents the "beginning of the new season" and "not the continuation of last season" in the eyes of chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.

Keen to swiftly move on from what was a disappointing 2024-25 campaign overall, Man City will endeavour to retain the world title they won for the first time in 2023, and fans are excited to see whether some of their new signings will hit the ground running under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola.

The fact that Guardiola has named a strong 27-man squad suggests that City are taking this competition seriously and they can be regarded as one of the favourites to go all the way if they are to match that same level of brilliance they showed in the previous four years when they won four consecutive Premier League titles, among many other domestic honours, as well as the Champions League.

The prospect of earning a winning prize of £97m and having a World Champions badge stitched onto their shirts for the next four years will serve as huge motivation for all clubs, including Man City.

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Devesh Jaganath, Mamelodi Sundowns & African football expert

While the FIFA Club World Cup may be viewed as something of a burden for participants from Europe due to fixture congestion and player overload, for teams from Africa, none of that really matters, as this represents a massive opportunity for players to showcase their ability on a global stage, something that many of our boys are only able to do during FIFA World Cups.

This tournament allows the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly to test themselves against the best teams on the planet - ones they only normally see in two dimensions on TV screens. Indeed, being able to play on the same field as some of the world’s greatest footballers will be the highlight of several players' from the African teams' careers. Realistically, there are not many fans of the African representatives in the competition who expect their teams to go on to win the tournament, but that does not stop them from maintaining hope, and from the Cape to Cairo, the anticipation for the competition is palpable. 

Then, of course, there is the financial benefit - teams from Africa will receive $9.55m just for participating in the tournament - to put that into perspective, consider that the winner of this season’s CAF Champions League received just $4m in prize money, while Mamelodi Sundowns, who are South Africa’s richest club and one of Africa’s powerhouses, have an annual revenue of just $38m. Thus, the income earned from the FIFA Club World Cup will have a massive impact on allowing us to attract better players to Africa and improve our leagues, potentially for a few years to come.

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Diego Iwata, Palmeiras expert

The Club World Cup is important for all four Brazilian teams competing, and it could not be any different for Palmeiras, because if the Champions League is the biggest stage for European clubs, in South American, the FIFA World Cup is, whatever its format.

Multi-time champion in Brazil, especially in recent years, Palmeiras wants to achieve its ultimate dream and conquer global glory. It is always a milestone for Brazilian teams to beat European opponents and win a competition of this magnitude, even if the Europeans downplay the tournament as a whole (fans, players, media, etc).

There is an expectation that some of the four Brazilian clubs present will be able to advance in the competition and achieve important victories against European opponents, with Palmeiras and Flamengo being regarded as two of the Brazilian clubs with higher chances of advancing in the competition.

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Guilherme Calvano, Flamengo expert

The club with the largest fan base in Brazil and one of the most successful, Flamengo is proud of its history of having beaten Liverpool in 1981, becoming world champions, with a great team performance captained by the legend Zico. Even though the English team may have been uninterested at the time, the achievement is treated with great recognition.

With internationally renowned players such as Jorginho, Danilo and Alex Sandro, Flamengo has the best squad in South American football and wants to show that it can once again be world champion, and it will come as no surprise to Brazilians if Flamengo goes far in the competition.

Brazil is respected by football fans around the world for its great achievements and the exciting and captivating style of play, with great stars throughout its history. Yet this is a glory reserved for the national team that the Brazilian league and Brazilian teams are trying to achieve and being recognised.

World competitions are frowned upon by Europeans, but this is always an opportunity for Brazilian (and South American) teams to test themselves against strong European teams, even if their interest is questioned, and show the world that there is a lot of talent in Brazil beyond the Seleção.

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Dez Corkhill, Asian football expert

For teams in the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) and OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) regions, the World Club Cup is welcomed for very different motivations. 

West Asian clubs Al Hilal from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and, to a lesser extent, Al Ain of the UAE, welcome the competition from a playing perspective as it allows them to genuinely test themselves and their expensively assembled squads against the very best in the world.

Money isn't the primary motivation for these two well-financed operations, especially Al Hilal; rather, it's a belief that they deserve the same platform as the major European teams to showcase themselves. 

For Japan's Urawa Reds and Korea Republic's Ulsan, the financial incentive will loom large.

Urawa are one of the better-financed clubs in Asia, but even with an average crowd of 37,000, their record signing is a mere $5m in a league where paying transfer fees is the exception rather than the rule. For example, the prize for winning the J-League is approximately $1m, whereas the financial incentive to win one match at the Club World Cup is $2m.    

As for Ulsan, an average crowd of 18,000 and a long-term commercial partnership give them more of a financial clout, but even their transfer budget is minuscule compared to even middle-ranked European teams with $2m being the most they have ever shelled out for a player. In both countries, the better players head to Europe so a share of the billion-dollar prize money, with the guaranteed participation income added to a potential $2m match winning bonus makes this highly attractive.

Of course, there's an attraction in merely playing in the Club World Cup for all five Asian/Oceania representatives, but the interest and enthusiasm in Japan and Korea explodes when the potential financial benefits are added.

OFC Champions, Auckland City from New Zealand, will also be present at the final, and they are a club who have never paid a transfer fee for any player.

A single point in the Club World Cup Group phase, allied to the guaranteed share of the participation fee, is a huge incentive to participate.

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Yoro Mangara, Afrik-Foot & New World TV journalist

People talk about it, in Senegal and everywhere else in Africa, but they don't talk about it much more than that. This competition won't have the same impact on Africans as a Champions League or the classic World Cup.

Precisely because our clubs, the African clubs taking part, don't go beyond their own borders. Wydad is a very popular club in Morocco, but not much more. Esperance is a club that stops in Tunisia. Mamelodi Sundowns stop in South Africa. They can't cross the South African border. Because our clubs don't have aficionados in other African countries.

Unfortunately, you can find fan clubs for Olympique de Marseille and PSG in Senegal. But never a Wydad Casablanca fan club. This implies that, as these clubs do not have supporters all over Africa, this Club World Cup is not the stuff of dreams. Some will certainly follow it out of curiosity. But I can assure you that that's all there is to it.

The other thing that doesn't help this competition in Africa is the match schedule. Today, I can't think of an African who would be prepared to wake up at 2am to watch a Mexican club. They can do it at the classic World Cup. Because there's Nigeria, Senegal, the whole of Africa behind all the African countries. They can watch the Brazilians, Kylian Mbappe and so on.

But today, to ask Africans to wake up at 2am and take out a subscription to watch a competition they don't know anything about, no.

The proof is that in the early 90s, the Copa America was very well followed in Africa, because there were great Brazilian and Argentine players that they wanted to see on screen, and they were prepared to stay up until 2am to watch, but today, the numbers are plummeting.

Nobody watches the Copa, because they're not going to wake up at 2am to watch Venezuela, Chile or Costa Rica; because there are no longer any great players in Latin America to inspire the African public.

They'll be watching, of course, if by chance there's a PSG-Real Madrid match in the quarter-finals, semi-finals or final, because Real have fans in Africa, and PSG have supporters in Africa.

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Hakim Kraiem, Top Mercato, Tunisia

In Tunisia, every appearance by Esperance de Tunis on the international stage triggers a wave of enthusiasm that extends far beyond the supporters of the Blood and Gold. The club's participation in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is no exception, quite the opposite in fact. The event has aroused real popular enthusiasm, as much for its prestige as for what it symbolically represents in the collective imagination of Tunisian fans.

You only have to look at the reception given to the competition trophy when it came to Tunis last February to grasp the extent of the expectation. Presented first at the Cite de la Culture and then at the Rades stadium, the trophy attracted crowds who were curious and proud to see their country involved in this global event. This was just a foretaste of the current mobilisation.

As the deadline approaches, the fervour grows. Nearly 3,000 Esperanto supporters have organised themselves to cross the Atlantic and support their team in the United States. An impressive figure that testifies to the seriousness with which the Bab Souika faithful are approaching this competition. With four previous appearances at the FIFA Club World Cup (2011, 2018, 2019 and now 2025), EST are no strangers to the competition. Their track record speaks for itself: 34 Tunisian league titles, 4 African Champions Leagues... Esperance is the emblem of a conquering and ambitious Tunisian football.

But this interest is not limited to EST fans. Football in Tunisia is all about passion, but also fierce rivalries, and while the Esperantists are dreaming of a memorable run, fans of other clubs are following the event with a far more critical eye.

Fans of Club Africain, Etoile Sahel, CS Sfaxien and Stade Tunisien can't help but follow their rivals' every move; not out of national support, but often in the hope of a slip-up, a setback that would reignite the debate and provide food for thought.

Social networks are already buzzing with comments, debates are raging in cafés, and every news item about Esperance fuels discussions across the country, so the Club World Cup is therefore more than just a sporting event: it is becoming a theatre where national pride is being played out, as well as the divisions in local football. Esperance, alone on the pitch, carry with them the hopes of a people... and the sharp eyes of their eternal rivals.

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Romain Lantheaume, Top Mercato, France: 

I don't sense a huge buzz around the Club World Cup in France, because even though all the games in the competition will be shown for free on DAZN, I'm sure most football fans don't even know about it...

I saw a poll this week on a well-established football site (more than 25,000 participants), that 55% of those polled intend to follow the CWC and watch matches. 19% will only watch the results and 26% aren't interested in the competition at all. And we are talking about football fans here... For the general public, there will only be 2 matches broadcast on TF1 (PSG-Atletico and the final).

For me, there's a structural reason for this lack of interest: the absence of a second French club to qualify for the CWC, and more specifically Marseille.

If OM had taken part in the tournament, that would have changed everything, and there's also a cynical reason: the CWC comes just after the Champions League final, which has already deeply divided France. 

So PSG fans will obviously be living the CWC to the full, dreaming of a quintuple, but for other football fans, the interest will be more limited, at least initially; perhaps it will develop if there are big matches in the knockout stages.

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Clyde Tlou, African football expert: 

To Africa, the FIFA Club World Cup is more than just football - it’s a symbol of pride, identity, and resilience and it is a chance to showcase our talent and challenge outdated stereotypes, proving to the world that Africa stands strong, united, and excellent.

I think the Mamelodi Sundowns assistant coach Steve Komphela summarised it best when he said, “The Club World Cup, to me, is like a war fought without weapons - where we fight for those who can’t be there, where every pass, every goal, every victory is a statement: Africa is here, and we are proud.”

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Andrew Delaney, author's opinion

As an English football fan with no skin in the game regarding the Club World Cup, I see it as an interesting experiment that was always bound to happen, but like the international World Cup, it will take a while for everyone to get on board, as it took England 20 years to even bother turning up to that.

Those who grew up playing FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer would put together their own versions of a ‘Club World Cup’ when playing with friends though, so I am slightly surprised there is not more widespread interest, as the version FIFA have mustered up this summer is certainly better than the world’s biggest clubs breaking away from their domestic leagues and setting up the despicable Super League that was quickly quashed a few years ago.

Some may see my point of view as quite cynical and unpopular, but players *are not* playing that much more football nowadays than those in the 1970s or 1980s did for example, when in England, the top flight was a 42-game season, with multiple replays in cup competitions, and more arduous international fixtures against stronger nations, without the level of sports science and R&R that professionals have today.

Nobody is forcing the clubs and players to play either, but when there is such financial gain to be had, concerns about player welfare quieten down a tad, and if all of the biggest players take part as expected, it should conjure up some interesting fixtures, and give fans their football fix with no major men’s international competitions on this summer.

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Conclusion

To conclude, it is clear that football fans are divided around the globe about the Club World Cup, even within the same continent.

While some African supporters are excited to showcase what their continent is capable of, others are struggling to get excited about the competition.

Clubs in Brazil are excited to see whether they are up to the task of competing with Europe's elite, while it will be a special moment for clubs like Auckland City, who will play on a stage they have never experienced before.

It comes as no surprise to many that European fans are the least interested of all, given that they are accustomed to seeing the best players go head-to-head during a regular season, but still, it will provide some interest, talking points and excitement on what would have otherwise been quite a dull summer.

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