FIFA’s inaugural expanded Club World Cup has been marred by embarrassingly low attendance at matches across the United States, with near-empty stadiums becoming the prevailing theme and leading many fans to declare the tournament a failure.
Want to know what people are really saying? Don’t miss the buzz from Reddit at the end!
Empty Stadiums: A Puzzling Scheduling Blunder
FIFA’s arrogance and puzzling scheduling decisions are largely to blame for the poor turnout. Several matches were scheduled during weekday afternoons when most fans are at work, making it unrealistic to fill massive NFL and college football stadiums. For instance, the Chelsea vs LAFC match at Atlanta’s 71,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium kicked off at 3 pm on a Monday, resulting in a sparse crowd despite Atlanta United’s strong MLS attendance. Similarly, the Borussia Dortmund vs Fluminense match at 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium took place at noon on a Tuesday, with images showing a near-empty venue.
Arrogance and Oversized Venues: A Recipe for Disaster
While some weekend or evening matches like PSG vs Atletico Madrid at the Rose Bowl drew impressive crowds of 80,000, many others suffered from the ill-timed kickoffs and oversized venues. Scheduling these matches at smaller, soccer-specific stadiums could have created a packed atmosphere and a different perception of the tournament. FIFA’s arrogance in assuming fans would flock to cavernous NFL stadiums for weekday afternoon matches proved to be a major miscalculation.
High Prices, Low Prestige: The Expanded Format’s Downfall
High ticket prices and a lack of overall prestige for the expanded Club World Cup format also contributed to poor sales. While the traditional Club World Cup featured the champions of each confederation, the new 32-team format diluted the competition’s exclusivity. Coupled with the inconvenient times and oversized venues, many fans simply did not view the matches as a must-see event worth the steep ticket costs.
Just the Beginning? FIFA’s Questionable Decisions Linger
The combination of inconvenient times, cavernous venues, and limited fan interest has resulted in an embarrassing start for FIFA’s new tournament, which they can only blame on their own arrogant decisions. As the competition progresses, FIFA must reevaluate their approach to scheduling and venue selection to avoid a continuation of the empty stadium optics that have plagued the opening rounds. Otherwise, this expanded Club World Cup could be remembered as a colossal failure that tarnished FIFA’s reputation even further.
What People Are Saying About the FIFA Club World Cup Fiasco
The overwhelming sentiment from Reddit comments is that FIFA’s arrogant scheduling decisions and choice of oversized venues are largely to blame for the embarrassingly low attendance at the expanded Club World Cup matches. As one user, AppleDanceOnFortnite, aptly pointed out, “How many times can I yell from the rafters ‘3pm on a Monday.’ Don’t make this shit for overseas TV audiences and this doesn’t happen.” The inconvenient weekday afternoon kickoff times made it nearly impossible for local fans to attend, with another commenter, Adorable_Sleep_4425, simply asking, “3 o’clock game in the middle of the week. Who does that?” 🤡
Several Redditors also criticized FIFA’s decision to host the matches in cavernous NFL and college football stadiums, rather than more intimate soccer-specific venues. As Chip3033r pointed out, “and don’t hold them in NFL stadiums! like the article said, nobody would be making ‘Americans don’t care about football’ TikToks if these same crowds were just in packed MLS stadiums for midweek afternoon matches.” The mismatch between the small crowds and the oversized arenas further contributed to the tournament’s poor optics.
While some Redditors acknowledged that FIFA may have been using the Club World Cup to test logistics and infrastructure for the upcoming 2026 World Cup, the consensus is that the organization’s poor planning and arrogance led to this embarrassing debut. As No_Platform_2810 noted, “To be fair, I think FIFA is also testing these facilities (personnel, infrastructure, TV hosting, ticketing, media accommodation, security, etc.) for the World Cup.” However, as Chip3033r pointed out, only 5 of the 12 Club World Cup venues will actually be used for the 2026 World Cup, further undermining the claim that this was a test run.