The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 attracted the participation of 32 clubs from all continents. The tournament will open with a match between Inter Miami (USA) and Al Ahly (Egypt).
"It opens a new era for football, a new era for club football. It's like when the first World Cup started in 1930s.
Everyone today talks about the first World Cup. That is also the reason why the World Cup for this club is historic, Infantino excitedly talked about the upcoming club-level tournament, in an interview with AFP.
The 1930 World Cup was attended by only national teams in Europe and South America. But according to Infantino, with the Club World Cup, clubs around the world have the opportunity to participate. In addition, according to statistics, this tournament also attracted players from more than 80 countries around the world to participate.
We want to give opportunities to clubs around the world. The real purpose of it is to globalize football, making it a truly global sport.
Because when you look at it as a whole, we will say that this is the number one sport in the world, and that is true, but the elite are very few in a few clubs, in a few countries," the FIFA head added.
Infantino has denied concerns that the tournament will increase the tight schedule. But he also admitted that some fans still do not fully understand the value of the tournament and that will change rapidly.
"I believe that as soon as the ball starts rolling, the whole world will recognize what is happening here. That is something special," he said.
Infantino also defended FIFA's decision to cut big on Miami students, giving them the opportunity to watch Messi and his teammates play. This is also a way for FIFA to fill the void in stadiums.
The FIFA president said that the tournament, with a global broadcasting agreement with DAZN said to be worth 1 billion USD, the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will achieve economic success. But he also stressed that all proceeds from commercial contracts will be reinvested in FIFA's next football activities.
