Club World Cup tests U.S. readiness to host next year’s mega-event

Two of the most famed soccer teams in the world will square off for the Club World Cup on Sunday, and it’s happening in an unlikely location: New Jersey.

The tournament final at MetLife Stadium between London-based Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain sets the stage for the biggest sporting event in the world next summer. It’s a high-stakes dress rehearsal that could mark the beginning of a watershed year for the sport in the United States.

North America will host the FIFA World Cup next June and July for the first time since 1994 with the economic and logistical implications hard to overstate.

A report from Pitch Marketing Group projects it to be the most lucrative sports tournament ever staged, with revenues for FIFA alone expected to top $10 billion. That’s a bottom line boosted by an increased number of teams for the first time in the tournament’s history from 32 to 48.

For a big-ticket appetizer, enter this summer’s Club World Cup — also hosted in major metro areas like New York, Miami and Los Angeles — which features top club teams like Manchester City and Real Madrid rather than national squads.

The Club World Cup has quietly been around since 2000, but this year it expanded from seven to 32 teams in a major revamping that came with a jaw-dropping $1 billion in total prize money. Sunday’s winner will take home up to $125 million.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino says the 2025 Club World Cup is launching “a new era of club [soccer],” one he hopes will supercharge a sport that, according to the latest Gallup poll, ranks fourth among Americans behind football, basketball and baseball.

“It was important to organize this new FIFA Club World Cup here in the U.S.” Infantino said Monday at Trump Tower in New York, where FIFA opened a new office. “Our objective is to make soccer the No. 1 sport in America. And we’ll put in whatever it takes to make that happen.”

Fans at Tuesday’s semifinal between Chelsea and Brazilian club Fluminense at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey expressed optimism in that vision.

“This is the first competitive club tournament in North America, and it brings atmosphere,” said Ben Doran, who grew up in England but now lives in New Jersey. His son Quinn sported a Chelsea jersey, while Dad wore the colors of his hometown team, Derby County.

Others remarked on the energy the tournament has brought to the area.

“Today we were at Times Square seeing people cheering. It’s amazing,” said Andre, a Fluminense fan who traveled with his family from Rio de Janeiro.

But how much this tournament will reveal about the United States’ readiness to host next year’s main event, watched by billions, is the most important backstory of the competition.

“If you ask FIFA … it’s epic, it’s incredible, and it’s unprecedented,” said Adam Crafton, a soccer writer for The Athletic. “I think the reality is probably more nuanced.”

Crafton cited question marks over the attendance at Club World Cup group stage matches, the sustainability of broadcast contracts and a volatile weather pattern that parched players and spectators alike.

He added, however, that “most people would say it’s been above expectations.” The average attendance of 35,000 for the group stage games, especially with many lower-profile clubs competing early in the tournament, was a strong sign.

FIFA agreed, telling NBC News it has already totaled more than 2.3 million fans from 180 countries ahead of Sunday’s final.

“It’s definitely been a pleasant surprise to be at that number,” said Manolo Zubiria, chief tournament officer of the 2026 World Club. “Those are the numbers we’re projecting. So to have reached the 2 million mark I think only 10 days after we hit the 1 million mark … it’s been a really, really positive note for this tournament.”

Attendance predictably rose as the tournament narrowed to the iconic global brands like PSG and Real Madrid. The two semifinals this week boasted 70,000 and 77,000 fans, respectively, nearly filling an NFL stadium to capacity.

FIFA has also acknowledged the weather has proven a considerable obstacle at times in running the tournament.

“We knew the heat would be a factor for teams and for fans,” said Zubiria, who said FIFA was prepared with “mitigation strategies.” He said players have cooling breaks during matches. Fans have had access to cooling stations and shaded areas.

A father-and-son duo from Rio de Janeiro — who saw their beloved Fluminense play in Orlando, Florida; Charlotte, North Carolina; and New Jersey this summer — said the increased temperatures have been tough despite the added measures.

Luis Lassance said his elderly father was hospitalized after he suffered heatstroke.

“It was too hot,” he said. “I mean, it’s hot the whole month, but Charlotte was especially hot for him.”

Another issue that prompted conversation is the Trump administration’s immigration policies and what impact, if any, they might have on a global tournament.

Comments from the Department of Homeland Security before the Club World Cup raised concerns about how Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would treat fans at games.

Customs and Border Protection posted on social media that the organization “will be suited and booted ready to provide security for the first round of games.”

Thomas Kennedy of the Florida Immigrant Coalition told NBC South Florida that “the messaging that CBP is using is a bit cryptic. It’s sort of alluding that people should have their paperwork in order to attend the games. It creates an environment where people are less likely to come watch the games because of just sheer intimidation.”

But this week a source at FIFA told NBC News that it has not been aware of any ICE activity at any of the matches.

FIFA’s new dynamic ticket pricing has been another divisive issue. Tickets for the semifinal between Chelsea and Fluminense were cut from $473.90 to $13.40 in the past week.

“Some people benefit,” Crafton said. “Other people will probably feel very, very ripped off.”

FIFA and the World Trade Organization collectively are forecasting a whopping $47 billion in impact on the U.S. economy from the two tournaments combined.

The stage is also amplified by a surge in interest for the sport — an SBRnet survey last year shows American viewership of the top soccer leagues in the world has grown by 60% since 2018. Until now, those elite teams would come to America only to play noncompetitive exhibition matches.

The privilege of seeing that level of competition was not lost on fifth grader Mohamed Berkouk, who moved to the United States from Algeria in 2019 and was excited to watch Tuesday’s semifinal in New Jersey.

“In my country, you don’t have big opportunities like this,” he said. “It’s just small teams that you just go and watch. But this is much bigger.”

In midtown Manhattan, the managing partner of the Football Factory at Legends bar, Jack Keane, thought back on years of running soccer-focused bars and the outsized growth he has witnessed.

He said American interest in soccer today is unrecognizable compared with the 1990s.

“In those days — and I don’t exaggerate — 95 to 99% of people who watched would have been expats. … Now it’s such a mixture,” said Keane, who is from Ireland. “I mean, every young American kid in his early 20s [today] has got a team.”

Maybe some of that vibe will rub off on the youngest fans, too.

“In Rio de Janeiro, it’s kind of in everybody’s blood, because from a very small age you see all your parents and your uncles watching the games,” Catarina, 9, said outside MetLife.

Asked how old she was when she went to her first game, she grinned. “Ah, months!”