Inside FIFA’s $1 Billion Gamble To Take Over Club Football
FIFA says the Club World Cup will globalize football and empower smaller nations. But with $1 billion in prize money, Saudi backing, and overloaded schedules, it could destroy the sport instead.
Imagine playing 80 games in one season, traveling 40,000 miles, and getting just two weeks off before it starts all over again. That’s the reality for players at FIFA’s new Club World Cup — a billion-dollar bet that could either globalize the game or break it.
On the surface, FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup appears to be a great idea. Paris Saint-Germain. Chelsea. Real Madrid. Bayern Munich. Some of the world’s best clubs will compete against teams many fans have never even heard of for $1 billion in prize money. Thirty-two teams from six continents will play 63 games over 30 days. It’s like the World Cup, but rather than nations playing each other, it’s a club competition.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino convinced the world’s most valuable clubs to play in the tournament by offering them each $15 to $40 million in appearance fees. Entrants from South America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania were also paid a few million dollars, with the chance to double their annual revenue just by reaching the knockout stage.
The pitch is simple: Rather than helping the European elite chase Champions League trophies by pillaging talent from Asia, Africa, and the Americas, FIFA’s Club World Cup is truly a global competition. It will place clubs from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, and Japan on the international stage, with the promise of billion-dollar payouts potentially helping slow the migration of homegrown talent away to European clubs.
That all sounds great. But let’s be honest, those are just PR talking points. FIFA’s Club World Cup is about one thing and one thing only: Money. Saudi Arabia is secretly funding the entire tournament (more on that later), and attendance has been so light that FIFA is paying influencers millions to help sell tickets that cost less than $50.
Today, we’ll examine the history of the tournament, why Infantino is obsessed with making it successful, Saudi Arabia’s Trojan horse, the impact of appearance fees and prize money on the budgets of big and small clubs, and so much more. Let’s get into it.