“The FIFA Club World Cup will determine who is the best club in the world.”
This is the claim of FIFA President Gianni Infantino about the FIFA Club World Cup, which is about to be played across the United States for the next month. With the tournament expanded from seven to 32 clubs, it’s certainly bigger, but will it be better?
Football fans are asking: where are Liverpool, Barcelona and Napoli? The three champions of England, Spain and Italy aren’t competing.
The qualifying criteria were designed to reflect the strength of clubs over the past four years. But that has caused FIFA a credibility problem for a tournament it hopes can eclipse UEFA’s Champions League.
FIFA’s own criteria was diluted and compromised by the way a place was suddenly found for Inter Miami, one of three MLS (Major League Soccer) clubs that will be representing the host nation. MLS Champions Los Angeles Galaxy didn’t get a spot.
With superstar Lionel Messi having helped Inter Miami become a major global brand, they gained entry by finishing top of the regular-season standings in last year’s MLS. This wasn’t part of the qualification criteria until suddenly announced by FIFA, with Infantino congratulating them in person at the celebrations on the pitch in Miami.
Messi’s team will play in the opening fixture against Egypt’s Al Ahly on Saturday night at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, but the 37-year-old’s legendary status hasn’t quite worked its magic, with organisers already having to cut ticket prices to the match.
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Indeed, FIFA expressed an appetite for 40-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo to join Messi at the tournament.
It was Infantino who first suggested the Portuguese forward could leave his Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, after they failed to qualify for the Club World Cup, making use of the special 10-day (June 1 -10) created by FIFA for players to be signed by teams in the brand new CWC.
But Ronaldo has been busy elsewhere, scoring to help Portugal to win the UEFA Nations League on Sunday against closest rivals Spain, proving Infantino was right to realise he is still “box office”. Whether FIFA presidents should be starting transfer speculation is another matter. Ronaldo turned down approaches to play.
Where are Barcelona, Liverpool and Napoli?
Another player who won’t be playing in the CWC is the rising star of world football, Lamine Yamal (who turns 18 on July 13, the day of the final in New Jersey).
Yamal’s club? Barcelona, of course. Meaning, the young genius generating millions of clicks and clips around the globe will play no part in something FIFA wants and needs football fans to embrace.
Sources at the Spanish club tell me that missing out on the money available for the tournament has hurt Barcelona’s board of directors. A $1bn TV rights deal with sports streaming platform DAZN was finalised six months before the tournament, undeniably welcome for the participating clubs, particularly the winners who’ll receive up to $125m.
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But after a tiring season, the coach and players are more philosophical. Players’ union FIFPRO reacted with dismay to the major expansion of the tournament and its shift to June/July, going as far as to threaten legal action, and calling FIFA “inherently abusive” for adding so many games.
At Liverpool, who won the English Premier League by 10 points, failing to qualify for the tournament has been met with a shrug of the shoulders. The club’s Dutch manager Arne Slot feels his team, who won the Premier League in his first season in charge, didn’t need another challenge and more games.
“I don’t think it’s healthy for players to only have maybe one week off, then go into the tournament, then have one week off and start the whole Premier League season again. That can never be good for the health of a player,” said Slot.
“Maybe when the tournament has been played or done well, we’ll all feel we would love to have been there, because what a great occasion. I think most people in football have the same opinion: ‘Pfft, another tournament.’”
The four-year qualifying criteria may have been designed for fairness, but it also means no Napoli, whose Serie A triumph was warmly received by fans across the globe, some of whom retain a soft spot from Maradona’s famous era in the city. The Italian club’s absence is unfortunate for the hosts and organisers.
FIFA can point to 12 European teams in the 32-club lineup, reflecting the dominance of the continent in club football. And the lineup does include Real Madrid (who’ve won six of the last 12 Champions Leagues); Bayern Munich, and English duo Chelsea and Manchester City, who both returned to late-season form.
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Paris Saint-Germain may hold the key to the tournament’s credibility. The French champions deservedly won the Champions League for the first time with irresistible form and flair in the knockout stages, before beating Inter Milan 5-0 in the final in Munich.
Many will already have decided they are currently the best team in the world – European teams have won the last 11 Club World Cups in the shorter format. They will be tested, though, with Brazilian champions Botafogo, Atletico Madrid and CONCACAF champions Seattle Sounders in their group. If PSG slip up, it could indicate the tournament is more difficult than its critics suggest.
Can FIFA convince the fans at the CWC?
FIFA is accustomed to criticism, but with the Club World Cup, it is also dealing with something potentially more damaging: apathy.
As well as the slow ticket sales, there are no guarantees DAZN will get the viewing figures it would like for its billion-dollar investment. And the tournament will provide a litmus test of the current interest in football from the American public, a year before co-hosting the 48-team World Cup with Mexico and Canada.
Ultimately, football fans notice what happens on the field more than off it. The political aspect of this tournament is not talked about it, but don’t underestimate its significance.
FIFA’s global vision wasn’t expanded only because the governing body wanted to “prove the world’s best team”. It’s largely about the relationship between the FIFA president and UEFA, his former employers.
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The Champions League is regarded as the best knockout club competition in world football, with unchallenged kudos, huge broadcasting deals and an unmatched quality of football.
Tensions between FIFA and UEFA recently surfaced when Infantino arrived late to the FIFA Congress in Paraguay, straight from meetings in the Middle East during US President Donald Trump’s state visit. UEFA’s delegates walked out mid-meeting over what they called a “deeply regrettable” delay.
Infantino desperately wants the Club World Cup to succeed, and even has his name engraved on the trophy. So, how does that happen? No embarrassing empty seats and higher ticket sales would help. Then FIFA hopes the public gets caught up in the action, with four matches per day covering time zones, and not much competition from other men’s football.
The operative word, though, is form. The NBA basketball finals have shown how quickly things change. Last year’s finalists were the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks. Both crashed out of contention this year, losing their best players (to injury and via a controversial trade respectively). FIFA’s four-year qualification period needs refining.
Whatever happens in the next month, expect there to be changes in qualification criteria before the 2029 Club World Cup, whether it is tweaks or something more drastic.
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Global football doesn’t stand still, but FIFA has shown that it can and will make its own rules. Now it’s over to the players.