FIFA Club World Cup: 5 things you need to know
The four-week tournament will crown the best team on the planet
The sport never stops — and that statement has never been truer than this summer.
While June and part of July is typically — at least when it comes to the European game — reserved for national team duty, some vacation time, transfer talk and preseason tours, this summer will be different.
The expanded FIFA Club World Cup, which kicks off on Saturday, will be played for the first time in the summer. It is FIFA’s way of creating a new competition, with the best clubs from across the world, as a way to generate money and compete with the UEFA Champions League.
“Everything will go back into football: Prize money to the clubs and solidarity funds for club football all over the world,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. “My thanks goes to everyone who has participated in this success … everyone who shared our vision of the need for the world to have a global club competition because we have to make sure that clubs — not just national teams — can shine on a global stage, can invest and can become better and bigger all over the world.”
The tournament — designed as a curtain-raiser for next year’s World Cup — has had some challenges, including concerns of player fatigue following an exhausting European club season and the growing prospect of empty seats. In fact, The Athletic reported last week that prices have been slashed for fear games will feature empty seats.
Heres’s what you need to know about this year’s Club World Cup:
Expanded format
For the first time, the Club World Cup features 32 teams from six continents, adopting a World Cup-style structure. The tournament will also serve as a dry run for the United States, which will co-host the World Cup next summer along with Canada and Mexico.
“I’ve already played in a few tournaments in the United States, mainly with the [Brazil] national team,” said PSG captain Marquinhos. “It’s always a wonderful place to play. There will be many football fans there, and around the world, who will be watching. So, I think it will be an exciting tournament to play in.”
The Club World Cup, with matches held across 12 venues in 11 U.S. cities, culminating in the final on July 13 at MetLife Stadium in suburban New York.
Best teams in the world
While how some teams qualified for the tournament appeared convoluted (and based, in some cases, on players and prestige rather than merit), the tournament does feature some of the best club teams in the world.
Pre-tournament favorites, according to bookies, to win it all are Real Madrid, Manchester City and newly-crowned European champions PSG. For Real Madrid and Man City, the trophy can serve as a way to salvage what had been a mediocre season without any trophies.
“Well, it would be nice, we cannot deny it,” Man City manager Pep Guardiola said of winning the tournament. “But there are 31 other teams that want the same thing. Normally when I start a competition, for example, the Premier League, I never want to start thinking, ‘Oh, we’re going to win. You have to win.’ It’s one step at a time.”
Key games
The 32 teams are divided into eight groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage. Here’s a look at the key matches from the group stage:
— Group B: PSG-Atletico Madrid (Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles)
— Group A: Palmeiras-Porto (MetLife Stadium, New York)
— Group C: Boca Juniors-Benfica (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami)
— Group D: Flamengo-Chelsea (Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia)
— Group C: Bayern Munich-Boca Juniors (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami)
— Group C: Benfica-Bayern Munich (Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte)
— Group E: Inter Milan-River Plate (Lumen Field, Seattle)
— Group G: Juventus-Manchester City (Camping World Stadium, Orlando)
— Group H: FC Salzburg-Real Madrid (Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia)
Prize money
The tournament boasts a record $1 billion prize pool, with up to $125 million allocated to the champions. Teams earn additional money based on performance.
For example, $2 million per group stage win and $7.5 million for reaching the round of 16. All participating clubs receive guaranteed payments, with a solidarity fund of $250 million supporting global soccer development.
However, not everyone is pleased with the potential payout. The MLS Player Association released a statement — backing a protest by MLS side Seattle Sounders FC players — saying “FIFA's new tournament plies on to players' ever-increasing workload without regard to their physical well-being. In order to seize this additional calendar territory, FIFA had to commit historic amounts of prize money to secure club and player participation. … Despite this windfall, [MLS] has refused to allocate a fair percentage of those funds to the players themselves.”
Transfer market impact
Since the European club season is normally dormant in early summer, FIFA implemented a restricted transfer window for the first 10 days of June to make roster adjustments ahead of the tournament.
In addition, a limited in-competition window from June 27–July 3 permits further modifications.
DAZN is the exclusive global broadcaster of the FIFA Club World Cup. Tickets are available at FIFA.com/tickets.