When the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 opened on Saturday, Lionel Messi, arguably the world’s greatest footballer, weaved his magic on the field as a cluster of former stars – David Beckham, Ronaldo, Kaka, Bebeto, Roberto Baggio and Javier Zanetti – watched on from their VIP seats at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
While Messi was unable to score any goals in Inter Miami’s 0-0 draw against Egyptian club Al Ahly, football fans turned up in their thousands to watch the Argentinian lead his team in what could have been a goal-fest for the home side.
The organisers, led by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, appeared pleased with the tournament opener and would have hoped for the goals, spectators and popularity to increase as the Club World Cup progressed.
Infantino has treated the tournament as his personal project and aimed to bring the biggest names in football to the United States, one of the co-hosts for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
From the unusual last-minute addition of Messi’s Inter Miami to the main draw, to his attempts at luring Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to sign for a participating club and increasing the winner’s prize money by a whopping $35m, the FIFA chief has pulled out all the stops to support his grand proclamation that the Club World Cup is “the start of something historic that will change our sport for the better”.
However, three days in, the tournament, billed by FIFA as the most elite global club competition, has failed to match the hype created by the sport’s governing body.
Here’s what’s gone wrong with the Club World Cup thus far:
Poor match scheduling and player burnout
Kickoffs scheduled at noon and 3pm local time on scorching hot summer days have led to players dealing with difficult conditions. Some of these teams have finished full league and cup competition seasons in their respective countries and confederations.
Others – from the US, South America and Oceania – have hit pause on their regular seasons and will return to their respective leagues after the Club World Cup.
The tournament has been subject to criticism from regional football bodies and players’ unions long before the first kick of the opening game.
“The decision today to schedule the FIFA Club World Cup between June 15 and July 13 without implementing further player workload safeguards demonstrates a lack of consideration for the mental and physical health of participating players, as well as a disregard for their personal and family lives,” players’ union FIFPRO said in a statement when the tournament schedule was released in 2024.
“The extreme mental and physical pressures at the pinnacle of the game is the principal concern of players with multiple club and national team competitions, leading to exhaustion, physical injuries, mental health issues, diminished performance, and risks to career longevity,” the statement added.
FIFPRO called for the consideration of player health and safety regulations as a “matter of urgency” but that failed to deter FIFA from tinkering with the schedule.
Mismatched teams and dead rubbers
Auckland City, a club made up of amateur players with full-time day jobs, opened their campaign against six-time European champions Bayern Munich and were handed a 10-0 thumping.
The 34-time German champions, fielding a full-strength team, scored four goals in the first 21 minutes of the game in front of a hapless Auckland defence.
Add to it the fact that the fixture seemed more of a practice outing than a challenge for the Bundesliga side, with Bayern coach Vincent Kompany saying: “The next game against Boca Juniors will be the highlight of the group stage.”
While minnows and favourites are often pitted together in global tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup, Oceania champions Auckland will also face Argentinian powerhouse Boca Juniors and Portuguese side Benfica in an incredibly tough draw for the team from New Zealand.
It seems unfair for the team rated 4,957th in the world in the Opta Power Rankings to take on opponents ranked sixth (Bayern Munich), 24th (Benfica) and 131st (Boca Juniors).
Empty stadiums and low ticket sales
While Messi-mania brought the crowds in the tournament opener in Miami on June 14, and European champions PSG thrashed Atletico Madrid in front of 80,000 Los Angeles fans at the famous Rose Bowl a day later, the same cannot be said for some of the other fixtures.
Monday’s Chelsea vs LAFC encounter at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta was played out in front of less than one-third of the stadium’s capacity.
The US-based side are often able to draw close to full-capacity crowds at their home venue in Los Angeles, and Chelsea rarely play in front of so many empty seats, whether at home or away.
The stark contrast from the fervent fan support at their Stamford Bridge home in London prompted Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca to say the atmosphere in Atlanta was “a bit strange.”
The 71,000-capacity venue saw the 3pm kickoff match play out in front of 22,137 spectators.
“I think the environment was a bit strange,” Maresca said after the game.
Of the remaining 36 group-stage games, 13 will be afternoon kickoffs on a weekday and the low ticket sales for the first phase of the tournament could mean that organisers will struggle to fill up the venues.
Strict security measures, which include the presence of border patrol officials and presenting passports as proof of identity, may also deter fans from thronging the venues.
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