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New York Times
33 minutes ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Have Club World Cup attendances really been that bad?
The group stage of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup has concluded and 48 of the tournament's 63 matches have now taken place. The competition, which is being hosted in the United States, drew plenty of criticism in the build-up — including for how many games were being held in large, out-of-town stadiums in cities traditionally lacking in football (or soccer) fandom. Advertisement So what have attendances actually been like? How many stadiums have come close to filling all of their seats? How have crowd sizes compared to the American-hosted 1994 men's World Cup and previous Club World Cups? And which have been the most and least-watched teams and groups at the tournament? Here, The Athletic dives into the numbers and lays out the facts surrounding the attendances so far. Firstly, this is what the attendance has been at each game so far at the tournament. The figures are FIFA's (the below table is sortable). FIFA has confirmed the attendance for both Mamelodi Sundowns vs Fluminense and Urawa Red Diamonds vs Monterrey (both played on June 25) was, by coincidence, exactly 14,312. The 80,619 fans who watched Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain thrash Atletico Madrid at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California is the highest attendance of the tournament so far. This match is, for now, the best-attended game in Club World Cup history. The previous highest reported attendances were the 73,000 who watched Manchester United vs Vasco da Gama (group stage) and Corinthians vs Vasco da Gama (final) at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro in the inaugural version of the competition in 2000. The lowest attendance is the 3,412 present for South Korean side Ulsan HD's clash with Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa at the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida on June 17, which was also delayed for 65 minutes given fears of thunderstorms. The nearby Walt Disney World averages that many visitors roughly every 30 minutes. The last men's World Cup game to have a lower attendance was Wales vs Hungary in a group-stage play-off in Sweden in 1958 (2,823) and the last Premier League match (excluding games during the coronavirus pandemic) to attract a smaller crowd was Wimbledon vs Everton at Selhurst Park in January 1993, with just 3,039 people at the ground. Advertisement It is not, however, the lowest-attended Club World Cup match ever (excluding games held during the pandemic). That distinction is held by the second-round match between Mexican club Leon and Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds at the 2023 tournament in Saudi Arabia. Just 2,525 people (in a 27,000-capacity ground) watched Urawa win 1-0. The average attendance at the 2025 Club World Cup has been 34,759. The average across the previous 18 — much smaller — editions that were not affected by the pandemic was 32,505. While, at face value, this suggests attendances have been better than usual for the tournament, larger stadiums have been used for this edition, which must be taken into account. Here is the average attendance for each day of the tournament. The highest figure, on June 14, was set on the first day of the competition, when the only game was between Lionel Messi's Inter Miami and Egyptian side Al Ahly at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The lowest was on June 25, when the final games in Groups E and F took place. Three of the four matches were attended by fewer than 15,000 people and just 14,312 people watched Monterrey's victory over Urawa Red Diamonds at the Rose Bowl. That meant more than 75,000 seats — a figure higher than Old Trafford's total capacity — were left empty at the stadium that hosted the 1994 World Cup final. Looking at the 12 stadiums being used for the tournament, the Hard Rock Stadium tops the list for percentage of seats filled. The ground in south Florida has been, on average, 81.8 per cent full during its six games hosted so far. Notably, two of these matches have involved Messi. The lowest is the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, which has only been 19.9 per cent full. The MetLife Stadium in New Jersey — which will host both the final of this tournament and next summer's World Cup, which the U.S. is jointly hosting with Canada and Mexico — has the third-lowest percentage of seats filled so far, with just under 45. The club to have played in front of the most fans so far at the tournament are record 15-time European champions Real Madrid with a total of 197,474, averaging 65,825 over their three games. And the side to have been the least-watched are Mamelodi Sundowns, who totalled 31,730 at an average of 10,577 per game. Advertisement The group with the highest total attendance was Group B (PSG, Botafogo, Atletico and Seattle Sounders) with 289,725 at an average of 48,288 per match and the one with the lowest total attendance was Group F (Borussia Dortmund, Fluminense, Mamelodi Sundowns and Ulsan HD) with 104,026, averaging 17,338. So, how does the group stage at the 2025 Club World Cup, with an average attendance of 34,759, compare to the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.? Well, that tournament 31 years ago averaged 67,526 for group-stage attendance — not far off double what we have seen this summer. As for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, that averaged 51,188 in the groups and the average attendance across the 380 Premier League games in 2024-25 was 40,423. But a word of caution when comparing different competitions across different eras: this is the first edition of the rebranded Club World Cup and it is far less popular than the World Cup and the Premier League, so the lower attendance figures are to be expected. So while crowd sizes have not been — on the whole — disastrous so far, FIFA will hope they increase during the knockout stage. And, at next year's World Cup, the sport's governing body will be desperate to avoid the scenes we have seen at several games this summer, with well over 50,000 empty seats in some stadiums. Even so, the added prestige and global interest in the World Cup will inevitably mean higher attendances in the group stage of that tournament — although ticket prices and difficulty in reaching some out-of-town stadiums could pose a challenge.
Japan Today
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Japan Today
More than 1 million empty seats for Club World Cup group stage. Knockout rounds up next
Seats are empty during the Club World Cup Group F soccer match between Mamelodi Sundowns and Fluminense in Miami Gardens, Fla., Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) soccer By RONALD BLUM and JAMES ROBSON After a group stage played in front of more than 1 million empty seats, the Club World Cup moves on to knockout rounds that could soon resemble a Champions League clone. Nine teams that advanced to the round of 16 are from Europe along with four from Brazil and one each from Major League Soccer, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. About 56.7% of publicly listed capacity was filled for the 48 group stage matches, which included crowds of 3,412 and 6,730 in Orlando, Florida; 5,282 and 8,239 in Cincinnati. FIFA did not provide specific capacities for the tournament despite repeated requests from The Associated Press. Total announced attendance was 1.67 million from 2.95 million capacity, an average of 34,759. Just 44.9% was filled for five matches at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the site of next year's World Cup final, and 50% at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where the 1994 championship game was played. Among other 2026 sites, 81.8% of capacity was filled in Miami Gardens, Florida, 61.6% in Philadelphia, 52% in Seattle and 44.3% in Atlanta. FIFA spokesman Bryan Swanson did not respond to a request for FIFA President Gianni Infantino to discuss the tournament and attendance. FIFA issued a statement that said: 'The appetite of the tournament speaks for itself: fans from 168 countries have already purchased tickets ... a clear sign of global anticipation and reach.' The 12 games televised with English commentary on TNT, TBS and truTV averaged 360,000 viewers through Monday, including 409,000 for seven matches on nights and weekends. The second round opens Saturday with an all-Brazilian matchup of Palmeiras and Botafogo, followed by Chelsea-Benfica later in the day. Sunday starts with the high-profile meeting of Inter Miami and Lionel Messi against European champion Paris Saint-Germain and is followed by Bayern Munich-Flamengo. Inter Milan-Fluminese and Manchester City-Al Hilal are on Monday, and Real Madrid-Juventus and Borussia Dortmund-Monterrey on Tuesday. European teams won 16 of the 17 previous editions of an eight-team Club World Cup, the lone exception a 2012 victory by Brazil's Corinthians over Chelsea. Manchester City is the only team that went 3-0 in the group stage. Five of the 12 stadiums being used are sites for next year's World Cup, which will have 104 matches instead of 64 and many more games lacking prestigious teams and players. There were five weather delays in the Club World Cup group stage and temperatures at times rose well over 90 degrees (32 Celsius), a sign that climate change could impact next year's World Cup. However, four of the stadiums for next year's tournament have roofs and climate control. Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, among soccer's top stars, didn't play a minute of the group stage, having been hospitalized and treated for acute gastroenteritis. He drew attention this week when the Paris prosecutor's office said he filed a moral harassment case against PSG, his former club. 'I don't want to be optimistic and get ahead of myself, but we need him because he's a top player, one of the best in the world. We hope he's back soon,' Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said Thursday. Messi, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner who turned 38 on Tuesday, has helped Miami reach the knockout phase with moments of brilliance. He hit the goal frame twice in the opening draw against Al Ahly, then scored his 68th free kick goal for club and country in the 2-1 win over Porto. Next up is the game against PSG, Messi's team from 2021-23. All four entrants from Brazil have advanced to the round of 16, with Botafogo beating PSG 1-0 in a matchup of current European and South American champions. Flamengo, Palmeiras and Fluminense are also through to the next stage. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Miami Herald
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Fluminense advances with draw vs. Mamelodi Sundowns
Fluminense made it a perfect four-for-four among Brazilian sides at the FIFA Club World Cup, clinching their place in the last 16 with a 0-0 draw against Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday in Miami Gardens, Florida. Fábio made three saves to keep a clean sheet and seal a second-place finish in Group F for Fluminense behind Borussia Dortmund, who earned a 1-0 win over Ulsan HD in a simultaneous match in Cincinnati, Ohio. But in truth, the Rio de Janeiro side looked comfortable for most of the final hour, knowing a point would be enough to seal a meeting Monday in Charlotte, North Carolina, against the Group E winner. That team will be decided later Wednesday, with Inter Milan, River Plate and CF Monterrey all in the running. Mamelodi Sundowns became the last of four African representatives in the competition eliminated, though Wydad AC still have a match left to play. They were held scoreless for the first time in the tournament after nearly coming back from three goals down in their 4-3 defeat to Dortmund on Saturday. Wednesday's match followed Fluminense's Brazilian colleagues Palmeiras, Botafogo and Flamengo all sealing their place in the last 16 earlier in the group stage. Meanwhile, Sundowns entered as the final hope for an African representative in the knockout phase, with Al Ahly, Esperance de Tunis and Wydad AC all eliminated. But Sundowns had the first quality chance when Tashreeq Matthews ran onto Lucas Ribeiro Costa's defense-splitting diagonal ball into the penalty area. Fabio sprung quickly from his line and ultimately smothered Matthews' eighth-minute effort. Fluminense grew into the game later in the half. Jhon Arias dragged an effort from the right side of the penalty wide of the left post in the 36th minute. Five minutes later, Nonato fired a half-volley wide of the same upright following a set piece. After the break, German Cano reached Arias' excellent dipping cross to the near post. But his 58th-minute volley struck the woodwork as Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams could only look on. Williams finished with no saves as none of Fluminense's shot attempts were on frame. --Field Level Media Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
Al-Ahram Weekly
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Pyramids FC start Intercontinental Cup 2025 campaign against Auckland City mid-September - Egyptian Football
Egyptian CAF Champions League winners Pyramids FC will begin their 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup campaign against New Zealand's Auckland City FC on 14 September. The Egyptian side secured their spot in the prestigious tournament after clinching the CAF Champions League title, defeating South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns 3-2 on aggregate in the final. In addition to their Intercontinental Cup berth, Pyramids FC also qualified for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup. FIFA officially notified Pyramids FC of the Intercontinental Cup fixture dates in a letter sent on Friday. The match will take place at Air Defense Stadium in Cairo on 14 September, with the winner set to face Asian Champions League winners Ahli Jeddah of Saudi Arabia on 23 September. Pyramids FC made history last season by securing their first-ever African title. After drawing 1-1 in the first leg in Pretoria, they triumphed 2-1 in the second leg at home, sealing a 3-2 aggregate win over Mamelodi Sundowns. The team's victory marked a milestone as they became the fourth Egyptian club to win the prestigious title, joining the ranks of Al Ahly, Zamalek, and Ismaily. The FIFA Intercontinental Cup, which debuted in 2024 in Qatar, features the club champions from each of FIFA's six confederations. The competition follows a knockout format, with the European champion receiving a bye to the final. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.) Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
CNN
15 hours ago
- Sport
- CNN
Mamelodi Sundowns impress despite Club World Cup exit
CNN's Senior Sports Analyst Darren Lewis caught up with the Chairman of Mamelodi Sundowns, Tlhopie Motsepe, who explained the ethos behind the team's swashbuckling style of play, and why the African word Ubuntu is at the heart of everything that is accomplished by the South African side.
