FIFA and the Empty Seats Problem of the Club World Cup

An ironic scene unfolded during the opening match of the Club World Cup, which pitted the host Inter Miami against the African representative, Al Ahly. Not many spectators attended the match held at Hard Rock Stadium, Florida, United States, on Sunday (15/6/2025) morning WIB.

The scene contrasts with FIFA's claim that the Club World Cup is a tournament where great players from the best clubs compete against each other.

"We are introducing many successful new clubs from around the world through tournaments held in 11 cities across the United States. Overall, we anticipate a large attendance across the competition for the inaugural edition of a tournament that we believe will grow from edition to edition," wrote FIFA in an official statement prior to the opening.

If one adheres to FIFA's understanding, the opening match of the tournament, where great players from the best clubs compete, should have seen the seats in the stadium filled due to the immense enthusiasm from football fans. In the official announcement, it was stated that the number of spectators reached 60,927 people. This figure is nearly at the capacity of Hard Rock Stadium, which holds 65,000 seats.

However, the number announced by the committee refers to the tickets sold and not the attendance of the spectators. From the live broadcast, it was evident that several sections of the stadium were not fully occupied.

The opening ceremony of an event as prestigious as the World Cup usually attracts a lot of attention. However, the situation at Hard Rock Stadium unfolded quite the opposite. In fact, the stadium's location in Florida serves as a base for Inter Miami fans.

Indications that the Club World Cup would be less popular had been felt several months prior. The suspicion grew stronger after observing FIFA's decision to lower ticket prices for the matches. In December 2024, the cheapest ticket for the match was priced at 349 US dollars.

A month later, the ticket price was lowered again to 230 US dollars. A few days before the opening, a report from The Athletic stated that the cheapest ticket was reduced to 20 US dollars for four tickets, or about 4 dollars per ticket. FIFA offered these discounted tickets to several schools and campuses in Florida with the hope that the stadium could be filled to capacity.

A stadium that is not fully occupied should not be a major issue. In several larger events, such as the World Cup, it does not guarantee that there will always be a large number of spectators. There will be areas within the stadium that are not always filled.

The context is different at the Club World Cup. For FIFA, empty seats cannot be interpreted as a normal occurrence, but rather as a disaster. Moreover, empty seats are often seen during the opening ceremony, which is usually the second most anticipated moment for the audience after the final match.

In addition to attracting much ridicule, the sight of empty seats at the opening match is feared to damage the narrative or image that FIFA has been striving to establish. Long before, FIFA had been vigorously campaigning that the football event would reach its peak popularity in the US ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The Club World Cup is prepared as the initial bell for this celebration.

The sight of empty seats will certainly damage the image that FIFA aims to build. The greatest concern is that this could affect FIFA's promotion to potential sponsors ahead of next year's World Cup. In other words, empty seats could undermine confidence in FIFA, which claims that the American public is experiencing a soccer fever.

There are several reasons why the Club World Cup is less popular, aside from the fact that football is generally less popular in the United States. The most fundamental reason has already emerged from FIFA's own claims.

From the beginning, FIFA has stated that the Club World Cup is a tournament where great players from the best clubs compete against each other. However, this claim does not align with the composition of the participating teams.

Of the 32 participating teams, none of the champions from the English Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A this season, which are the three top European leagues, are present. Napoli, Liverpool, and Barcelona, the champions of each of the three top European leagues, did not participate due to the qualification requirements set by FIFA.

The European representatives in the Club World Cup are the champions of the Champions League in the last four editions and also nine teams with the highest UEFA ranking points over the past four years.

The absence of defending champion clubs from the three top European leagues has also diminished viewer enthusiasm. The English Premier League is represented only by Chelsea and Manchester City. Meanwhile, La Liga has sent Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

The story would certainly be different if Liverpool and Barcelona were involved in the Club World Cup. Without Liverpool, Napoli, and Barca, the claim of the best team put forward by FIFA becomes not entirely substantiated.

On the other hand, the presence of Lionel Messi does not seem to be a significant factor in attracting spectators. Residents of the United States are unwilling to spend money to watch Messi, whom they can see at any time in Major League Soccer (MLS). Messi is only able to draw a larger audience in regions that he rarely visits, such as Asia.

The factor of match times, which mostly take place in the afternoon, also contributes to the reduced interest of US citizens in watching the Club World Cup. This tournament is not designed to occur every weekend like a regular league, but rather almost every day, similar to the World Cup.

As a result, there is a possibility that residents may still be working during the match. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that many residents of the United States are still not familiar with clubs other than Real Madrid.

The next cause is the saturated US market. In addition to the Club World Cup, the Concacaf Gold Cup tournament is also being held simultaneously in the US. The Gold Cup features the national teams of the US and Mexico, both competing with full strength. Furthermore, several top European league clubs are conducting pre-season tours in the US, one of which is Manchester United.

Given the numerous football events taking place simultaneously, it is understandable why public enthusiasm in the US for the Club World Cup is not as high as expected.