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On Sunday, two of the most famous football teams in the world will compete for the club World Cup, and that happens in an unlikely place: New Jersey.
The Final of the Metlife Stadium tournament between Chelsea based in London and Paris Saint-Germain opens the way for the biggest sporting event in the world next summer. It is a high-challenged general rehearsal that could mark the start of a year of the watershed for sport in the United States.
North America will host the FIFA World Cup in June and July for the first time since 1994 with the economic and logistical implications that are difficult to overestimate.
A Pitch Marketing Group report provides that it is the most lucrative sports tournament ever staged, with income for FIFA alone should exceed $ 10 billion. It is a net profit stimulated by an increased number of teams for the first time in the history of the tournament from 32 to 48.
For a big ticket aperitif, enter the club World Cup this summer – also organized in major metropolitan areas like New York, Miami and Los Angeles – which presents club teams like Manchester City and Real Madrid rather than in national teams.
The club World Cup has existed quietly since 2000, but this year, it went from seven to 32 teams in a major renovation which came with a total of $ 1 billion price. The Sunday winner will bring home up to $ 125 million.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the 2025 club World Cup is launching a new club era (football Last Gallup surveyFourth among the Americans behind football, basketball and baseball.
“It was important to organize this new FIFA Club World Cup here in the United States,” Trump Tower in New York said on Monday, where FIFA where FIFA Open a new office. “Our goal is to make football sport n ° 1 in America. And we are going to put everything you need to get there. ”
Tuesday semi-final fans between Chelsea and the Brazilian Club Fluminense club at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey expressed their optimism in this vision.
“This is the first competitive club tournament in North America, and it brings an atmosphere,” said Ben Doran, who grew up in England but now lives in New Jersey. Her son Quinn sported a Chelsea jersey, while Dad was wearing the colors of his hometown team, Derby County.
Others have pointed out on the energy that the tournament brought to the region.
“Today, we were sometimes square when we see people applaud. It’s amazing,” said Andre, a Fluminense fan who traveled with his Rio de Janeiro family.
But how much this tournament will reveal on the preparation of the United States to host the main event of next year, looked at by billions, is the most important background of the competition.
“If you ask FIFA … It’s epic, it’s incredible and it’s unprecedented,” said Adam Crafton, a football writer for athletics. “I think reality is probably more nuanced.”
Crafton has cited question points about the attendance of stage matches for club groups, the sustainability of broadcasting contracts and a volatile meteorological model that has dried up players and spectators.
However, he added that “most people would say it was above expectations.” The average attendance of 35,000 for group stage matches, in particular with many lower profile clubs in competition at the start of the tournament, was a strong sign.
FIFA accepted, telling NBC News that it has already totaled more than 2.3 million fans in 180 countries before the final on Sunday.
“It was certainly a pleasant surprise to be in this number,” said Manolo Zubiria, director of the 2026 World Club tournament. “These are the figures we are planning. So, for having reached the 2 million mark, I think that only 10 days after reaching the million bar … It was a really positive note for this tournament.”
Attendance has increased predictably when the tournament has narrowed to emblematic world brands such as PSG and Real Madrid. The two semi-finals of this week had 77,000 and 77,000 fans respectively, almost filling an in capacity NFL stadium.
FIFA has also recognized that the weather has sometimes proven a considerable obstacle in the management of the tournament.
“We knew that the heat would be a factor for the teams and for the fans,” said Zubiria, who said that FIFA was prepared with “mitigation strategies”. He said players have cooling breaks during the matches. Fans had access to cooling stations and shaded areas.
A father and son duo of Rio de Janeiro – who saw their beloved playing in Orlando, Florida; Charlotte, North Carolina; And New Jersey this summer – said the increase in temperatures was difficult despite the additional measures.
Luis Lassance said that his elderly father had been hospitalized after suffering from heat stroke.
“It’s too hot,” he said. “I mean, it’s hot all month, but Charlotte was particularly hot for him.”
Another problem that caused a conversation is the immigration policies of the Trump administration and what impact, if necessary, they could have on a world tournament.
Comments from the Ministry of Interior Security Before the Club World Cup raised concerns about how immigration and customs agents would treat fans during the games.
Customs and border protection displayed on social networks that the organization “will be adapted and launched ready to ensure the safety of the first gaming round”.
Thomas Kennedy of Florida Immigrant Coalition told NBC South Florida That “The messaging that CBP uses is a bit cryptic. It is sort of lit that people should have their papers to attend the games. This creates an environment where people are less likely to come and watch the games due to pure intimidation. ”
But this week, a source from FIFA told NBC News that he had not aware of any ice activity during the games.
FIFA is new Dynamic ticket prices was another division problem. Tickets for the semi-final between Chelsea and Fluminense were cut from $ 473.90 to $ 13.40 last week.
“Some people benefit from it,” said Crafton. “Other people will probably feel very, very scammed.”
FIFA and the World Trade Organization forecast A huge $ 47 billion in the American economy of the two combined tournaments.
The scene is also amplified by a wave of interest in sport – a SBRNET survey last year The American shows of the best football leagues in the world have increased by 60% since 2018. So far, these elite teams would only come in America to play non -competitive exhibition matches.
The privilege of seeing this level of competition was not lost in the fifth year Mohamed Berkouk, who moved to the United States of Algeria in 2019 and was delighted to watch the semi-final on Tuesday in New Jersey.
“In my country, you don’t have great opportunities like this,” he said. “These are just small teams that you just will watch. But it’s much bigger.”
In Midtown Manhattan, Director of Football Factory at the Legends Bar, Jack Keane, has redesigned years of football and excessive growth of bars which he witnessed.
He said the American interest in football today is unrecognizable compared to the 1990s.
“At that time – and I do not exaggerate – 95 to 99% of people who looked at expatriates would have been. … Now, it is such a mixture,” said Keane, who is from Ireland. “I mean, each young American child at the beginning of the twenty (today) has a team.”
Perhaps some of this atmosphere will also find themselves on the youngest fans.
“In Rio de Janeiro, it’s a bit in everyone’s blood, because at a very small age, you see all your parents and uncles watching the games,” said Catarina, 9, outside Metlife.
Asked how old she was when she went to her first game, she smiled. “Ah, months!”
