FIFA highlights that the Club World Cup was a "success"

The inaugural Club World Cup concluded last Sunday with Chelsea's triumph in the final, with US President Donald Trump presenting them with the trophy after a month of competition and a shower of millions in prize money.

A billion-dollar prize pool; an increasingly close bond between Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, sitting together in the MetLife Stadium box in New York City during the final against European champions Paris Saint-Germain; as well as Atlético Madrid's elimination in the group stage and Real Madrid's elimination in the semifinals against the Parisian team.

One year before the World Cup, which the United States will host alongside Mexico and Canada, 32 clubs from five continents competed in 11 venues and 12 stadiums in the United States, with stories of overcoming challenges, such as that of the modest Auckland City or Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal, who were able to eliminate Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the round of 16.

Never seen before

Chelsea pocketed over $115 million for the title in this tournament. They received four for their two group stage wins, 7.5 million for reaching the round of 16, 13,125 million for playing in the quarterfinals, 21 million for the semifinals, and nearly 70 million in total for their victory in the final.

Of the tournament's total prize pool, $525 million was distributed among the 32 participants, while the remaining $475 million was awarded based on performance throughout the competition.

This amount set a new record for prize money for a football tournament, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced ahead of the competition.

An important ally

FIFA President Infantino didn't hesitate to describe the inaugural Club World Cup as a "huge success," sitting next to Trump in the MetLife Stadium box during the final.

The relationship between FIFA's top official and the US president is growing ever closer, and has been since Trump returned to the White House in January 2024.

A demonstration of this connection was the recent announcement that FIFA will have its new headquarters in New York at Trump Tower, where in the days leading up to the tournament final, Infantino inaugurated an exhibition featuring the Club World Cup trophy alongside former Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo Nazario and the son of Republican leader Eric Trump.

In total, 2,491,462 tickets were sold for the tournament, with an average attendance of 39,547 spectators per match, according to data released by FIFA.

Locker magnets

Among the clubs that drew the most fans to the stadiums were Real Madrid, whose headquarters were in Palm Beach, Florida, PSG, and Manchester City, although this tournament also featured stories of overcoming challenges from smaller clubs that participated.

The most notable case was Auckland City, a semi-professional club from New Zealand that debuted with a 10-0 defeat to Bayern Munich and a 6-0 defeat to Benfica, but managed to achieve an incredible final draw against Boca Juniors, with a goal by Christian Gray, a school teacher who trains four days a week with Auckland.

The other World Cup

This Club World Cup was the prelude to the 2026 World Cup, which will be held next June for the first time with 48 participating teams.

Under the new format, 40 more matches will be played than at the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022, bringing the total number of matches to 104. The winning team will now play eight matches, instead of seven.

Mexico does not disappoint

Despite all the excitement caused by the opportunity to see the big clubs, the Mexican national team was the fourth team that drew the most fans to stadiums in the United States.

El Tri was the only team participating in the Gold Cup to make it into the top 10 for attendance. The top three are Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, and Chelsea.

A total of 310,479 fans attended the six matches Mexico played in the Gold Cup.