The pilot edition of the completely reformed FIFA Club World Cup is planned to start on June 15, 2025, and there are already certain clues which hint it could turn into an absolute fiasco! As per the renowned New York Times, the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, plans to organize an emergency meeting with the heads of global TV stations on Friday to try to find a buyer for the exclusive broadcasting rights since no one has shown serious interest so far!FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called an emergency briefing with TV bosses for Friday as he tries to drum up interest in next summer’s Club World Cup, which still has no official broadcast deal.More from @AdamCrafton_ ⬇️— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) September 19, 2024 FIFA has yet to sign a deal with a TV company, i.e. a broadcaster. Multiple sources – whose identities have remained protected so as not to jeopardize their position in the industry – claim that Infantino’s personal involvement clearly indicates how concerned FIFA is. Under the new format, the Club World Cup should have 32 participants, and the tournament is to be played from June 15 to July 15 of the following year in the USA.To make the whole situation even more confusing, the stadiums where the matches will be played, the training centres, and the sponsors have yet to be announced. The prize fund is also still unknown, so the participants have no clue what to expect. As The Athletic had previously reported, some teams could receive over €45 million, while FIFA’s plan to finance such expenses is still vague. The football governing body initially negotiated with Apple regarding broadcasting rights. Still, an agreement was not reached. In the meantime, FIFA tried to attract TV and streaming companies, but two months later, nothing significantly changed, nor was any contract signed.Infantino: The new Club World Cup format will make football truly globalAllegedly, one key reason no one has yet allocated money to buy the rights is FIFA’s significantly different financial projections regarding the earnings from the tournament compared to those of the media. Apart from that, the final week of the Cup would coincide with the Women’s EURO ending and the tennis Grand Slam tournament, Wimbledon.Media houses believe that the audience is not too familiar with the new format of the Club World Cup and fear that its response would be low because clubs that generate not only a large turnover of money but also “rule” social networks, such as Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, and AC Milan failed to qualify. Moreover, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr won’t participate, while Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami should be a part of the tournament. Namely, it’s still vague which team will get the final US ticket for the Club World Cup, but it is most likely supposed to be the MLS Cup winner, i.e. the club from Florida.##NAJAVA_MECA_8350511##The Athletic had previously also announced that a well-known American media company expressed so much uncertainty about the competition’s profitability that it offered around €27 million just for the North American market coverage package.Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president of Paris Saint-Germain and the European Club Association (ECA), actively supports Infantino and his ideas, claiming that the organization of such a tournament is in the greatest interest of clubs and football. Still, many clubs have expressed their dissatisfaction with the introduction of yet another competition in the annual calendar, while the Spanish superstar Rodri has announced the possibility of a player’s strike if the number of matches is not reduced.Has Rodri started an avalanche? Koundé and Orban support the strikeHowever, FIFA does not give up on the idea of organizing this competition, even under a different name. The problems with sponsors and media companies seriously threaten to jeopardize the tournament’s organization, which could eventually even be cancelled! Still, FIFA has not made any announcements regarding the recently discovered issues.
