The expanded Club World Cup opened with strong crowds, “Messi mania” and a vibrant festival atmosphere in Miami, offering early vindication for FIFA amid concerns over empty seats and global apathy.
FIFA drew criticism for handing Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami a backdoor entry into the tournament – an apparent move to ensure the sport’s biggest star featured on home soil, where his presence has already elevated football’s profile in a historically lukewarm market.
On Saturday, more than 61,000 fans packed Hard Rock Stadium to watch Messi and Inter Miami battle Egyptian powerhouse Al Ahly to a goalless draw.
Another strong crowd turned out Sunday for the clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid, which ended in a one-sided 4-0 win for the Champions League winners.
However, Bayern Munich’s 10-0 demolition of semi-professional Auckland City underscored the worrying gulf in quality between some of the competing clubs.
But the opening weekend largely delivered what FIFA had hoped for: vibrant crowds and global representation.
South American supporters made their presence especially felt.
More than 1,000 Boca Juniors fans in blue and gold turned Miami Beach into a party strip on Sunday ahead of their opening match, singing club anthems and waving flags in scenes reminiscent of a World Cup carnival.
“Wherever you go, Boca is here,” Gaston San Paul, a fan who flew in from Entre Ríos, Argentina, told Reuters.
“Wherever we are we do this,” he added, referring to the “banderazo” (flag party), a fan gathering destined to mark territory ahead of a game.
Boca and Real Madrid games were among the top early ticket sellers, according to FIFA, which said that top markets after the U.S. were Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.
Talk of empty stands was at least provisionally dismissed, as was heightened anxiety in the immigrant-heavy Miami area following recent federal immigration raids.
At the heart of the opening weekend buzz was Messi, whose presence has elevated Inter Miami’s profile and guaranteed global glamour for the tournament.
$1 billion deal
Messi, who received a standing ovation before kickoff, was unable to find the net against Al Ahly but provided flashes of brilliance in a tightly contested, physical match.
FIFA is banking not only on Messi’s star power but also on a radical new broadcast strategy. The tournament is being streamed for free worldwide by DAZN in a $1 billion deal.
That agreement followed Saudi Arabia’s SURJ Sports Investment, a subsidiary of the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), acquiring a minority stake in DAZN for a reported $1 billion – another marker of the kingdom’s growing investment footprint in sport.
The partnership, one of the largest broadcast packages in football history, is central to FIFA’s push to maximize digital engagement and position the Club World Cup as a global spectacle ahead of the 2026 World Cup in North America.
The $1 billion prize money, which ensures a hefty $125 million for the winners, was an obvious incentive for the European clubs.
“There’s a lot of money at stake. If you have the chance to earn a lot of money at a tournament, you should take the chance,” former Bayern legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in the run-up.
DAZN has yet to provide viewership data.
While the crowds gave FIFA reason to be cheerful, the Bayern Munich-Auckland City match raised awkward questions about the tournament’s balance as the German champions obliterated their opponents 10-0.
Despite the lopsided contest in Cincinnati, the overall mood among organizers was one of optimism, calling the opening weekend a resounding success.
Many Floridians, however, did not know a global football event was taking place in their state.
“There is a World Cup? Hockey?” said one person working in a restaurant in Miami Beach.
“This tournament is new, and it is different. It is the very first time clubs and players from all over the world have had the chance to face each other in competitive matches on a global stage,” FIFA said, referring to the 32-club format after previous editions featured seven.
With group matches continuing through the week and Boca’s opener against Benfica expected to draw another bumper crowd in Miami later Monday, FIFA will be hoping to build on the early momentum – and avoid more one-sided encounters like the one in Cincinnati as European teams appear to be a level above those from other continents.
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