Beyond the hype: The real challenge facing the 2025 Club World Cup

Fresh reports indicate that the 2025 Club World Cup is on the verge of being the worst edition of the tournament and here is why.

Despite high expectations due to the new format and rebranding of the FIFA Club World Cup ahead of the 2025 edition scheduled to take place in the US rising expectations and concerns have now emerged as the tournament is on the verge of becoming one of its worst editions till date.

Many might be wondering why this is a cause of concern but the fact remains that one of the biggest sporting events in club football history is set to have a very poor turn out.

According to the Athletic UK, the ticket sales for the tournament itself have been on the poor side with the opening day of the tournament struggling to surpass 25,000 tickets sold.

It was also revealed that tickets have taken a huge price slash to facilitate the sales of these tickets ahead of the event.

The Athletic in their publication revealed, "Unfortunately for FIFA, the paying public aren’t rushing to buy into it. Adam Crafton reports that the opening match, between Inter Miami and Egyptian team Al Ahly in Miami on June 14, is struggling to sell out. The game, likely to feature Lionel Messi (above), is nowhere near capacity, so ticket prices are being cut. Is a late rush coming? Or is the model created by Grafstom failing to land? Infantino has said previously he wasn’t “worried at all” about ticket sales, because the FIFA boss is a can-do sort. The world governing body insists fans from over 130 countries have purchased seats to date. Grafstrom told Felipe that the CWC should help football expand further in the States. It makes all the right noises, FIFA, but how much is it telling itself what it wants to hear?"

Security concerns for travellers has also raised a major concern ahead of the tournament. It remains to be seen if the issues raised now will not pose as a challenge for the tournament itself.