The End of an Error: Football Park's Club World Cup Review

The curtain has now drawn on FIFA’s inaugural revamped Club World Cup competition, with the Conference League winners stunning the Champions League winners in the final.

With $1 billion distributed across the 32 teams - of which Chelsea claimed just short of £100m as the winners - this on paper looks like the showpiece event in club football.

However, fan attendance, ticket discounts and difficulties regarding TV deals suggest anything but a pinnacle event.

Was the Tournament a Bad Idea?

With the USA hosting the tournament ahead of their co-hosting of the 2026 World Cup, the aim for FIFA in this tournament would have been to attract Americans towards football to boost their viewership and revenue ahead of next year.

Yet, this seemed to flop, as the Chelsea vs Fluminense semi-final ticket prices were slashed to just £10.50 despite the original price of £373 - showing how little interest there is from Americans and also that the kick-off times clashed with their working hours; Also, Chelsea vs LAFC brought in only 22,000 fans despite an American side playing whilst Mamelodi Sundowns vs Ulsan had just 3412 spectators.

Across the globe, TV viewership grew as the tournament progressed, however the numbers still remained lower than FIFA no doubt would have hoped - Real Madrid vs PSG’s semi-final clash had a peak audience of 12 million viewers, but this is dwarfed by the 145 million that UEFA said watched Madrid’s 2024 Champions League final.

On top of the obvious player welfare concerns as it is another set of fixtures at the end of a punishing season with a limited holiday period, financially the $1 billion prize pot only strengthens the spending power of the 32 clubs within their respective leagues, which will increase the skill gap in the long term.

Whilst Auckland City may only have taken home their £3.3m participation fee, this amounts to 676% of their annual revenue since they are an amateur club.

This could cause concern for teams in New Zealand, as none of their other clubs will now be able to compete with the spending power of Auckland and as such they are in a great position to keep winning their domestic competitions and therefore qualifying for future Club World Cups - a vicious cycle where the rich teams keep getting richer and break away from the rest of the pack.

Highlights of the Tournament

The Brazilians - All four teams from Brazil (Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Palmeiras) progressed from the group stage and Fluminense even made the semi-final stage before losing to the eventual winners.

Brazil at the Club World Cup:

7 matches
5 wins
2 draws
0 loses

- Botafogo 2 Seattle 1
- Botafogo 1 PSG 0
- Palmeiras 0 Porto 0
- Palmeiras 2 Al Ahly 0
- Flamengo 2 Espérance 0
- Flamengo 3 Chelsea 1
- Fluminense 0 Dortmund 0

RESPECT BRASIL 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/P8SNSgGzRL

— Brasil Football 🇧🇷 (@BrasilEdition) June 20, 2025

Whilst they had an advantage over European clubs since their league is in the middle of the season so they are still mentally at the highest level, no one expected Botafogo’s 1-0 win over PSG or Fluminense’s 2-0 win over the Champions League runners-up in Inter Milan.

Bringing their usual South American flair to the stage with talents such as Estevao Willian and Vitor Roque, it was a breath of fresh air amidst the tactical, possession-based style employed by many other clubs.

PSG continued to impress - Despite being demolished in the first half of the final, they kept up their high press, quick transition football with constant player rotations that caught the eye in the Champions League across the tournament.

Impressive wins such as the 4-0 demolitions of both Real and Atletico Madrid plus Inter Miami on top of the 2-0 victory against Bayern Munich suggested they would stroll to another trophy before eventually falling short at the final hurdle.

PSG scored 3 goals in 24 minutes against Real Madrid. pic.twitter.com/Fo4jVP1N3m

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) July 12, 2025

Al Hilal Shock - The Saudi Arabian champions may have been expected to finish below both Real Madrid and RB Salzburg in their group, however the Saudi side held the 15-time European Champions to a draw as they qualified to the knockout stage in second place.

At the Round of 16 stage, they stunned Manchester City in potentially game of the tournament, as they won 4-3 after extra time.

Football Park's Awards

Biggest Surprise - Fluminense, inspired by the heroics of 44-year-old goalkeeper Fabio and captained by the 40-year-old Thiago Silva, drew to Borussia Dortmund before knocking out the Champions League finalists and an Al Hilal team in great spirits after their extra-time victory on their way to the final four.

Biggest Disappointment - Porto were heavy favourites to top their group consisting of Palmeiras, Inter Miami and Al Ahly, however they didn’t win a single game and would have lost their final two matches if an 89th minute equaliser didn’t tie the game at 4-4 versus Al Ahly.

Perhaps Atletico Madrid could be another contender, as they were knocked out after three matches and did lose 4-0, however the six points they did earn would usually be enough to earn a knockout spot and therefore Porto take the unwanted title.

Team of the Tournament - Fabio (Fluminense), Achraf Hakimi (PSG), Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea), Thiago Silva (Fluminense), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea), Vitinha (PSG), Enzo (Chelsea), Fabian Ruiz (PSG), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Michael Olise (Bayern), Gonzalo Garcia (R. Madrid).

Player of the Tournament - Enzo Fernandez.

Whilst Palmer may have won the official best player award - mainly for his brace in the final - the impact of the Argentine midfielder throughout the whole event is enough for me to name him as the standout man.

The tournament’s top assister, Enzo was Chelsea’s star man in the group stage and created their opening two goals in the must-win game against Esperance Tunis in their final group match.

Enzo Fernandez made more assists than any other player (3) at the Club World Cup. 🅰️ #FIFACWC pic.twitter.com/w5i7L5w3G1

— WhoScored (@WhoScored) July 14, 2025

Against Benfica in the Round of 16, Enzo was pushed further forward into the 10 role which allowed for Palmer to roam into wide areas and for both Reece James and Malo Gusto to overlap the Englishman, where they flourish rather than inverting into the midfield.

In the final, Enzo’s advanced role was influential in the Blues’ high press and his aggression led to multiple turnovers in possession in dangerous areas leading to good chances.

Furthermore, he pulled out to the left for Chelsea’s first two goals of the game, dragging a defender across with him that then created the space on the edge of the box for Palmer to drift into and score both of his goals.

COLE. PALMER. STRIKES. 💥

CHELSEA ARE IN FRONT! 🏆🔵

Into the bottom corner like a cold-blooded finisher 🔵🔥

Catch the @FIFACWC Final | July 13 | Free | https://t.co/i0K4eUtwwb | #FIFACWC #TakeItToTheWorld #CHEPSG pic.twitter.com/EmJzPAPlCJ

— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) July 13, 2025

Should the Tournament Happen Again?

Whilst player welfare is the primary concern, the reformation of the previous Club World Cup format into the FIFA Intercontinental Cup effectively makes both tournaments nonsensical.

If the Club World Cup continues to take place every four years just like the international version, why would clubs - especially the European representative - be interested in travelling to the Middle East every December to compete in the new Intercontinental Cup for a fraction of the prize money whilst disrupting the middle of their league calendar which would affect their chances of domestic success.

On the other hand, the Champions League winners plus the other continental winners competing annually in a smaller competition makes the Club World Cup pointless since the Intercontinental competition will already have seen the participants play each other.

Therefore, the tournament only stands to help the rich get richer whilst earning FIFA more revenue and attracting more fans in the USA ahead of next year’s World Cup in North America.