No TV channels, no sponsors, no stadiums: The new Club World Cup is set to premiere in the USA in summer 2025. But a good eight months before kick-off, FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s prestige project is shaping up to be a flop.
Rumors have been circulating that the premiere of the new FIFA Club World Cup will have to be postponed. It is scheduled to take place in the USA from June 15, 2025, with 32 teams, including Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Red Bull Salzburg, and a total of 63 games. The calculation of FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino: four additional weeks of football spectacle in the summer and billions in additional revenue.
But now Infantino has had to personally call an emergency meeting with media managers, because a good eight months before the tournament kicks off, no TV partner has been found. No wonder, because the venues and sponsors have not yet been decided.
Short-term auction
What’s the problem? A TV deal with Apple for the Club World Cup did not materialize in the spring, and the current tender – which also includes the next edition in 2029, for which there is still no host – has so far been unsuccessful. It also comes at short notice, many broadcasters and streaming services have long since planned their budgets, and the Club World Cup overlaps with other sporting events such as the Women’s European Football Championship in Switzerland, the Gold Cup in the USA (the North and Central American equivalent of the European Football Championship) and the tennis tournament in Wimbledon.
The fact that the Club World Cup is a completely new product and that teams such as Liverpool, Manchester United and FC Barcelona are not qualified is also a deterrent. Cristiano Ronaldo will definitely not be taking part with his Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, and Lionel Messi would first have to win the US championship with Inter Miami to secure the host’s last starting spot. And the clubs that have already qualified are getting restless without a TV contract. They are asking where the promised rain of millions will come from. They have budgeted their participation with around 50 million euros in additional revenue.
The world football association is also facing trouble in the courtroom. A complaint to the EU Commission, formally submitted by the European leagues and the players’ union Fifpro, takes the new Club World Cup as an opportunity and argues that the overcrowded FIFA match calendar endangers the health of the players and represents an abuse of market dominance. A corresponding lawsuit has also been filed with the Brussels Commercial Court.
Cruciate ligament tear with announcement
In its greed for more games and even bigger tournaments, FIFA is now feeling stronger headwinds. It is almost symbolic that Spanish European champion and Man City star Rodri, who had been the loudest in denouncing the strain and predicting a players’ strike, actually tore his cruciate ligament at the weekend. Up to 80 games, including the Club World Cup, would have been waiting for him this season.
Injured football star Rodri. Reuters
FIFA, meanwhile, remains true to its expansionist course, accusing its opponents of “hypocrisy”. The path to the TV contract for the Club World Cup will show whether Infantino has not gambled away his chances with this mega-project. He has now announced that at least the exact venues should be decided by the end of September.
