The world’s football elite all in one place. Well, almost — Barcelona may be missing, but the rest of the best are here. Tonight at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the long-awaited Club World Cup finally kicks off, with the opening match between hosts Inter Miami and Al Ahly of Cairo. It’s the debut of this expanded 32-team tournament. FIFA has put up a massive prize fund of one billion dollars, with the champion set to receive 125 million — a tempting sum, even for Europe’s giants. This event brings together the best football has to offer in one place. Fans will also get to see the greatest of all time, Lionel Messi, now playing freely “for the love of the game” in Florida, wearing the Inter Miami jersey. The tournament will be hosted by the United States from June 14 to July 13. Originally, the competition was supposed to debut in this format in China in 2021, but it was postponed four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Club World Cup: low tickets sales and migrants issuesPrevious Club World Cups were limited to continental champions, but FIFA had long been considering expansion — and now, it’s finally time to witness the global elite in one spot. But the question remains: Is the USA really the right place for this tournament? Just imagine if it were held in Argentina or Brazil — the passion, the chaos, the madness. Americans, who still call the sport “soccer,” aren’t exactly in love with the beautiful game. FIFA even had to lower ticket prices for the opening match in Miami. Still, tickets for matches featuring Real Madrid and Boca Juniors sold out immediately.The 32 teams heading to the #FIFACWC 🔜— FIFA Club World Cup (@FIFACWC) June 1, 2025 This tournament also serves as a warm-up for next year’s World Cup. The format is the same as that of national World Cups: eight groups of four teams, each playing three matches in the group stage, with the top two advancing to the Round of 16 knockout phase. Meanwhile, the Gold Cup — the championship for national teams from the CONCACAF region — will also be held this month. A compromise was reached: the Club World Cup will mostly be played on the U.S. East Coast, while the Gold Cup will be based in the West.PSG and Atletico, welcome to the war zone!As expected, Europe has the most clubs — 12: Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, and Red Bull Salzburg. South America is sending six teams: Four from Brazil (Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense, and Botafogo) and two from Argentina (River Plate and Boca Junior). CONCACAF (North, Central America & the Caribbean) has five clubs: Three from MLS — (Los Angeles FC, Seattle Sounders, and hosts Inter Miami) and two from Mexico (Monterrey and Pachuca). Africa will be represented by four teams: Al Ahly (Egypt), Wydad Casablanca (Morocco), Esperance (Tunisia), and Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa). Asia brings four clubs as well: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan), Al Ain (UAE), and Ulsan (South Korea). Oceania has one representative: Auckland City, likely the weakest team in the tournament and expected to be cannon fodder for others.Chelsea have axed 4 players for World Cup…worth 145 million euros!Matches will be played in 12 cities, with the largest venue in Pasadena (a Los Angeles suburb), holding 89,702 spectators. Other major stadiums include:MetLife Stadium in New York (82,500),Charlotte (74,867),Atlanta (71,000),Seattle (68,470),Philadelphia (67,594),Hard Rock Stadium in Miami (64,767),Inter & Co Stadium (25,000),Orlando (60,219),Nashville (30,109),Cincinnati (26,000),Washington, D.C. (20,000).FIFA Prize money revealed: Clubs can earn up to 116 millionEach club can register between 26 and 50 players for the tournament. The transfer window was open from June 1 to 10 for teams to sign new players. FIFA also considered European audiences, so many matches will be held in afternoon or evening slots by European time. Naturally, European clubs are the favorites. Bookmakers list Real Madrid as the top favorite (odds: 5.00), followed by PSG (6.00). From the rest of the world, top contenders include Brazilian giants Flamengo and Palmeiras.FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2025Sunday03:00: (3.40) Al Ahly Cairo (3.70) Inter Miami (2.05)19:00: (1.01) Bayern (17.0) Auckland (60.0)22:00: (1.90) PSG (3.85) Atletico Madrid (4.10)Monday00:55: (2.65) Palmeiras (3.30) Porto (2.70)05:00: (1.95) Botafogo (3.45) Seattle (4.00)***odds are subject to change***
