The inaugural 32-team Club World Cup concluded Sunday with helpful takeaways for FIFA, because the U.S.-hosted match, received by Chelsea, served as a gown rehearsal for the expanded 2026 World Cup.
Next yr’s international showpiece will characteristic a report 48 groups and 104 matches throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico – a major leap from the 64-match format used at Qatar 2022.
To put together followers and organizers alike, FIFA expanded this yr’s Club World Cup to 32 groups – greater than quadrupling its conventional dimension – to reflect the dimensions and construction of what’s to return.
“It’s a dry run for FIFA,” mentioned Alan Rothenberg, the previous president of U.S. Football who oversaw the World Cup the final time it was held within the U.S., in 1994.
“There were some mistakes early on and some issues early on, but presumably they have now learned their lesson on how to stage a tournament in multiple cities in this vast country of ours. So I think it’s going to make it a lot smoother from here on out for ’26 because they now have experience.”
Organizers confronted criticism from gamers, followers, and coaches for a spread of points – from pitch situations to scheduling to warmth, with some video games performed to packed stands and others to sparse crowds, baking in temperatures of 29 levels Celsius (85 levels Fahrenheit) and better.
Global gamers’ union FIFPRO mentioned the warmth, particularly, ought to “serve as a wake-up call,” with organizers pressured to schedule matches earlier within the day to accommodate the extraordinary scale of the match.
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez described the temperatures as “very dangerous” to play in.
“Every criticism that we receive is a source for us to study, to analyze, to see what we can do better,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino advised reporters forward of the ultimate.
“Of course, the heat is definitely an issue. It’s an issue all over the world.”
Infantino mentioned the match in 2026 would use stadiums with roofs and local weather management to accommodate extra daytime video games. Of the 16 World Cup stadiums, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Vancouver have roofs.
“We need to look at what we can do better. We introduced cooling breaks. It’s obviously very important we water the pitch. We can see how we can do things better in America, as well as in Canada for next year, in Vancouver,” Infantino mentioned.
FIFA is taking better operational management over the 2026 match in comparison with earlier editions, mentioned Rothenberg, who’s now chairman of Premier Partnerships, a division of Playfly Sports.
“I don’t think they did (the Club World Cup) as an experiment, but it turns out to be a great experience for FIFA going forward,” mentioned Rothenberg, whose forthcoming e book, The Big Bounce, explores soccer’s reputation within the U.S.
‘Historic event’
Global soccer’s governing physique has put boots on the bottom within the U.S. in preparation for the World Cup, establishing area places of work in Miami and at New York’s Trump Tower.
U.S. President Donald Trump was readily available to ship the trophy at MetLife Stadium on Sunday to Chelsea, after the Premier League aspect defeated Paris Saint-Germain 3–0 in entrance of an enthusiastic crowd.
From January till the top of subsequent yr’s match, FIFA will preserve a forty five,000-square-meter (485,000-square-foot) broadcast middle in Dallas.
A smaller model was used within the car parking zone at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for the Club World Cup.
“This is not a test run – we’re going to have a lot of learnings from ’25, but this is a historic event for us,” mentioned Oscar Sanchez, head of host broadcast manufacturing.
“It’s massive – but 2026 is humongous.”
MetLife Stadium, which hosted Sunday’s remaining, is ready to host the 2026 World Cup’s showpiece, with ongoing analysis to optimize pitch situations in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Despite efforts – together with transporting Bermuda grass in a single day in refrigerated vehicles – Club World Cup venues obtained criticism from coaches and gamers for pitch high quality.
“We’ll report post-tournament and take lessons forward to 2026,” mentioned Blair Christensen, pitch venue supervisor. “These guys here that work on the pitch with me – they are far sharper and better than they were 35 days ago, and we’ll take that forward to next year as well.”
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