The FIFA Club World Cup – A World Apart
This briefing analyses how different people around the world see the idea of an enlarged FIFA Club World Cup, and the vast gulf between European club football’s traditional top dogs and the rest of planet football when it comes to the topic. It looks at themes such as player welfare, financial opportunity and global access versus European monopoly.
- Player Welfare Concerns and the “Too Much Football” Debate
Among the concerns, and one often cited by European figures, is the welfare of players and the saturation of the football calendar.
Oliver Bond’s firm disagreement “It never was a problem, it’s the lesser of all evils and the lost worth than the number of other competitions you should attend, it’s not that this competition is the choice to be made, it’s just stupid that people mention it at all.” – Jurgen Klopp, on the Fifa Club World Cup “It’s the most sense-free competition in the world because it feel like having a throwback game.” – The Man called Jurgen Klopp “We got congratulated today Roger” – Jurgen if you’re listening, it’s time to give Jurgen a call. What ‘Murica thinks about 1) “If I say Moorshalla people think I’m making excuses, he can’t even get a tune out of Manchester City and only sets up tent as a laggard who scores a few’day” – Opposing ManCity manager Morris- forward Rodney Read more fans can follow Marc on Twitter here and gratefully acknowledge This Is Anfield for some findings. Yours is a widespread perspective in Europe.
No Rest and Pre-season: The players are given little rest under the present order of play. “The domestic season finished, then they were straight on to internationals, some of them four or five days of, and then they had to link up with their clubs to fly out to the US for the club World Cup. The absence of rest because the competitions will run until just days before league fixtures, makes the well-being of the players an open question as they head into national team competition with a full month of a tournament hanging over their heads, only to return home to potentially begin league play. “Where are they going to have time to have a holiday?? Where are they going to have time to have pre-season training?
Legal action: How serious our anxiety is is demonstrated by the European leagues, the World Players Union FIF Pro are taking legal action against FIFA over the football calendar. - Cash windfall and opportunity for global clubs
On the other hand, the extended Club World Cup represents a significant money-making and sporting opportunity, especially for teams beyond Europe.
Big Money Prizes: The tournament awards big money. Even for just taking part, clubs such as RB Salzburg are thought to be picking up “20-30 million pounds”, far more than they could make from the usual pre-season tours. Clubs that advance to the later rounds or win the tournament “can stand to make 100, 110, 120 million pounds.
Crucial for FFP: This financial boost is stipulated as “a massive deal for clubs such as Manchester City and Chelsea in the age of FFP and PSR,” representing an important income in the age of financial regulations.
Competitive Exposure: For teams from South America, Central America, the MLS, Africa and Asia, the tournament is a “one in a lifetime (or at least it used to be) chance to play against the big European clubs.” They go on to explain that these non-European clubs are “very pleased that FIFA have done this new expanded club World Cup.”
Demonstrated Competitiveness: The competition has been “incredibly competitive” with everyone putting a very serious amount of effort into trying to win, evidenced by “when players celebrate goals the way Manchester City celebrated their goals against Juventus.”
- Resisting European Hegemony and Promoting Football Worldwide
The Club World Cup is also considered a way of deconcentrating elite football and making elite competition globally available, by turning the tide on European club power.
Football’s Global Ownership: “The Big Idea” seems to be: “football doesn’t belong to Jurgen Klopp, football doesn’t belong to the big clubs in Europe. This goes against the idea that European interests should be paramount in driving the sport.
Outside of European Borders: “They all play football in South America and play football in the U, play football in Africa, play football in Asia”. It asks why these areas should have to “go to Europe to play on the big stages.”
A Rival to the Champions League: The Club World Cup is touted as a possible “rival to the Champions League”, standing as a separate forum for top teams to compete at a global level.
Counter-Arguments to Klopp’s Position: The piece provocatively draws a comparison between Klopp’s criticism and other controversial proposals about the game, like Liverpool’s push for a European Super League or the introduction of five substitutions, another suggestion “particularly favourable to bigger clubs like Liverpool.” This, then, gives the lie to those who have opposed the Club World Cup as if it is some sort of high-handed imposition on elite European sides.
Conclusion
The revamped FIFA Club World Cup has revealed a fundamental split in opinion across world football. While European voices, led by the likes of Jurgen Klopp, lament player welfare and fixture congestion, clubs and stakeholders elsewhere are eagerly seizing the tournament as an unprecedented cash cow and a rare chance to challenge Europe’s best on the world stage. The divide illustrates the continuing friction between Europe’s old power structures in the sport and FIFA’s aspirations of a more genuinely global and financially fair game of football.