Between the ongoing FIFA Intercontinental Cup and the first-ever expanded Club World Cup draw earlier this month, there has been a lot of talk of international club football tournaments of late. The general view of them – particularly in European circles – appears to be pretty unfavourable, but there are some positives which might be overlooked.
By Neel Shelat
Fixture congestion concerns
The biggest criticism of FIFA’s expansion of the Club World Cup is that it adds more fixtures to what is already an overly congested calendar for many sides. This certainly is a valid criticism as FIFA could have limited the number of games by adopting a different format, but, it is worth emphasising that this issue is not just limited to the best European teams.
If anything, there are certain sides who have it worse than the European elite. Egyptian giants Al Ahly, for example, have had to forfeit a couple of domestic cup tournaments in recent years as they almost always compete all the way in the CAF Champions League and regularly feature in the Club World Cup / Intercontinental Cup (and also participated in the new-fangled African Football League last year). In 2024, they are set to play a total of 56 competitive fixtures despite dropping out of the Egyptian Cup entirely. Nevertheless, they do not seem to be making much of a fuss about their gruelling schedule, likely because the greater revenue of international tournaments means a lot more to them than it does to the top European teams.
Even Al Ahly’s numbers look paltry in comparison to what most Brazilian sides have to contend with, though. Since over half of the Série A teams qualify for continental football and all participate in their regional state championships ahead of the league season, the average Brazilian top-flight club plays over 60 matches a year! The busiest of them all – the ones who make long cup runs both domestically and internationally – can even end up touching the 80-game mark.
Since this is a challenge that the majority of Brasileirão clubs face annually, it has become pretty normalised in the country. The simple solution they have adopted is to increase the squad size, including a good chunk of youngsters and academy graduates to keep wages in check. As a result, the first-team squads of most Brazilian sides have 33 or more players.
Given their vastly superior financial might, there is no reason why European clubs cannot replicate this approach. While steps should be taken to ensure fixture congestion does not spiral out of control (and all relevant authorities – including FIFA, continental federations and domestic FAs – should stop trying to cram in as many games as possible), the issue of overly demanding schedules can still be mitigated from an individual player’s point of view if clubs adequately utilise squad depth.
Game-changing prize pots
At an executive level, one of the biggest selling points of the expanded Club World Cup is the eyewatering €2.5 billion prize pot that FIFA are said to have promised. That would make the tournament one of the most lucrative competitions not just in football but in all of sport. The breakdown of this prize money is reportedly such that every participant will be guaranteed at least €50 million.
If FIFA do produce that amount, clubs will be clamouring to participate in the tournament. The prize money will prove valuable enough even for the biggest European clubs, but it will be completely game-changing for almost all others.
Financial accounts are not equally accessible for all clubs around the world, but we can use squad values to get a rough idea of just how impactful Club World Cup revenue will be for most participants. In South America, only six squads are valued more than the reported winning prize of €100m. There are just four such teams in Asia – namely the big four Saudi Pro League clubs. All other squads outside of Europe are valued under that figure, including three CONCACAF participants whose squad values are lower than the €50m participation prize. The same can be said of all African clubs, while Oceanian representatives Auckland City will receive a life-changing windfall since their entire squad is worth just about €5m!
In this way, the Club World Cup can help somewhat redistribute the eyewatering finances in football to all parts of the world.
Celebrating the global nature of football
With as many as 12 European teams set to participate in the Club World Cup, many analysts have raised fears that the latter knockout rounds will feel like a repeat of the UEFA Champions League knockouts. Indeed, this is a strong possibility, but that should not take away from the global nature of the tournament as a whole.
While some European clubs and fans might see such international tournaments as little more than an inconvenience, they are a big deal for everyone else around the world. Previous iterations of such tournaments have regularly seen good fan turnouts both from host nation club supporters and expatriates or proximally-based fans. At the ongoing Intercontinental Cup, for example, Al Ahly have been very well supported by the large Egyptian community in Qatar, while Middle Eastern Real Madrid fans will relish the opportunity to watch Los Blancos in the final.
Moreover, meetings between clubs from different continents are special occasions that should be cherished. Many a memorable matchup has taken place in the past, including the last Club World Cup final between Pep Guardiola’s clinical Manchester City and Fernando Diniz’s fluid Fluminense, with City running out 4-0 winners.
Such fixtures are great occasions for clubs to see how they and their players and styles of play stack up against counterparts from around the world. For fans, such games should serve as a reminder of the global nature of football – which really is a unique aspect as no other sport is formally played in every country in the world.
So, regardless of some surrounding issues, we should all very much look forward to matches like today’s Intercontinental Cup final between Real Madrid and Pachuca as well as some of the best Club World Cup group stage fixtures such as Porto vs Al Ahly, Urawa Red Diamonds vs Monterrey, and perhaps best of all, Auckland City vs Boca Juniors!
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every game from the Intercontinental and Club World Cup on FotMob – with deep stats, xG, and players ratings. Download the free app here.