FIFA president Gianni Infantino has hailed the Club World Cup as “the most succesful competition in the world”, despite widespread critcism of the tournament.
Infantino, who has led world football’s governing body since 2016, claims the newly-expanded summer competition has generated more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in revenue, which he says is worth “$33m (£24m) per match”.
As a result, Infantino says, he believes it has been a “huge success”, adding that “the golden era of global club football has started”.
The new 32-team tournament held in the United States has attracted plenty of criticism, with former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp lamenting it as “the worst idea ever implemented in football”.
Many have critiqued the lack of intensity in games, comparing them to glorified pre-season friendlies, while teams have had to contend with extreme weather conditions and poor quality pitches. Regular empty seats at games have also been a point of criticism for the tournament.
But speaking at Trump Tower in New York on the eve of Sunday’s final between Chelsea and Paris St-Germain (20:00 BST), Infantino said: “The golden era of global club football has started.
“We can say definitely that this Fifa Club World Cup has been a huge, huge, huge success. Of course, there are a lot of positives, some negatives.
“We respect everyone’s opinion. It has been successful. We have had over 2.5 million in the stadium. That’s around 40,000 spectators per match – there is no league in the world with that number, except the Premier League which, of course, has home teams and these are neutral stadiums.
“We heard financially it would not work but I can say we generated over $2bn in revenues with this competition. We earned on average $33m per match. There is no other cup competition in the world that comes close to $33m per match.
“It is already the most successful club competition in the world with all different measurements.”
World Cup 2026: Covered stadiums to be used
The Metlife Stadium in New Jersey, which will host Sunday’s final, has seen temperatures as high as 38C in recent days.
Infantino has admitted extreme temperatures are “definitely an issue” after Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez called on FIFA to do more to protect player welfare and says stadiums will likely be covered in the day at next summer’s World Cup.
“Of course, the heat is definitely an issue,” said Infantino. “It’s an issue around the world. I remember it was the same in the Olympics in Paris and in other football games.
“The conditions need cooling breaks, watering the pitch and seeing how we can do things better.
“But we have stadiums in America that are covered and one in Canada in Vancouver which is covered, and we will definitely use these stadiums more during the day.”
