Club World Cup Q&A: Are ticket sales rising? Is the interest picking up?

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The FIFA Club World Cup is gathering pace after the opening round of group games. Here, our reporter Kaveh Solhekol answers some key questions from the US.

The new-look Club World Cup, which features 32 teams, started on June 14 with the final taking place on July 13.

The opening week has witnessed a 10-goal thumping, a dominant performance from Europe's champions PSG and mixed results for other European heavyweights. Some attendances have been very low but we have seen passionate fans on the streets and in the stands and Wednesday's game between Real Madrid and Al Hilal was outstanding entertainment.

What's the format of the Club World Cup?

The tournament format works exactly the same as the FIFA World Cup, only for clubs.

The 32 teams have been divided into eight groups of four teams, with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the knockout stage.

The last-16 stage - the first single knockout round - then moves to the quarter-final, semi-final and then final. There is no third-place play-off between the two losing semi-final teams.

Why are the attendances so low?

KAVEH SAYS: Despite images of thousands of empty seats at some games, FIFA is happy with attendances so far. The average attendance is almost 39,000 after 10 matches and that will rise significantly in the latter stages of the tournament.

It's not all doom and gloom. FIFA says it has already sold 1.5 million tickets and many games have been well attended. The opening game between Inter Miami and Al Ahly was almost sold out, PSG beat Atletico Madrid in Los Angeles in front of more than 80,000 fans and 55,574 people watched Boca Juniors draw with Benfica.

Of course, there have been too many empty seats at some games - especially Ulsan vs Mamelodi Sundowns and Chelsea vs Los Angeles FC - but FIFA is expecting a big crowd when Chelsea play Flamengo in Philadelphia on Friday.

A lot has been made about the ticket pricing for the matches? How has it been received in the host cities?

KAVEH SAYS: FIFA's dynamic ticketing policy has been controversial, but it has meant you can buy tickets relatively cheaply for some games. General admission tickets for Chelsea's opening game were $51 (£38) and they were only a few dollars more for Boca Juniors vs Benfica in Miami on Monday.

How accessible are the stadia at the tournament? Are they easy to get to? What is the infrastructure?

KAVEH SAYS: FIFA is using a mix of different sized stadia and the most impressive so far have been the ones used by the NFL. Those are also being used for the 2026 World Cup so this tournament is a useful dry run for next summer. One of the reasons FIFA likes hosting tournaments here - apart from the US being football's final frontier - is that the stadia and infrastructure are already in place.

Do the kick-off times feel like the right ones?

KAVEH SAYS: Games are kicking off as early as midday and that suits television audiences in the UK more than fans in the US.

The east coast here is five hours behind the UK so a 3pm local kick-off is 8pm in the UK - which is good news for broadcasters and fans watching on TV back home.

The disappointing 22,000 attendance for Chelsea's opening game in Atlanta is being blamed on the local kick-off time of 3pm on a Monday. Two years ago there were more than 70,000 inside the same stadium when Chelsea played Newcastle United in a pre-season friendly.

Which clubs are the most popular in the United States?

KAVEH SAYS: The Premier League is the most popular foreign league in the US but the biggest draw at this tournament are Real Madrid. They will play all their games in packed grounds and they create a big buzz wherever they play. It's all a far cry from former head coach Carlo Ancelotti's quickly retracted comments last summer that they would pull out of the tournament because they weren't being offered money by FIFA to play.

How much interest is there from US audiences in this type of football?

KAVEH SAYS: Lots of people say they are aware the Club World Cup is going on and games seem to be on live in lots of places like bars, restaurants, airports and even on flights. That doesn't mean that it's captured the imagination of the sporting public but coverage of it is not difficult to find if you are a soccer fan.

And for those fans, it feels special to have major clubs from all around the world playing competitive games in the US instead of just friendlies.

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Chelsea FC asked US sports fans to guess the name of Premier League clubs based off just their badge... and the responses were hilarious!

Could attendances be an issue in next summer's World Cup?

KAVEH SAYS: That's a possibility with the tournament expanding from 32 to 48 teams but don't forget Mexico and Canada are also co-hosting in 2026, so some of the extra games will be spread out across three countries.

The fact 16 more countries are playing in the World Cup makes it more likely that there will be some games with low attendees in the group stages.

Having said that, group-stage games at major tournaments don't always sell out and there have been disappointing attendances at some games at previous World Cups.

FIFA is confident attendances won't be an issue next summer and, who knows, if recent tournaments are anything to go by, the 2026 edition will end with some familiar voices claiming it's been the best World Cup ever.

Live group tables, fixtures and results

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Club World Cup fixtures and results

All times in BST

Group stage

Sunday June 15

Group A: Al Ahly 0-0 Inter Miami - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
Group C: Bayern Munich 10-0 Auckland City - TQL Stadium, Cincinnati
Group B: PSG 4-0 Atletico Madrid - Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles
Group A: Palmeiras 0-0 Porto - MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey

Monday June 16

Group B: Botafogo 2-1 Seattle Sounders - Lumen Field, Seattle
Group D: Chelsea 2-0 Los Angeles FC - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Group C: Boca Juniors 2-2 Benfica - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami

Tuesday June 17

Group D: Flamengo 2-0 Esperance de Tunis - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Group F: Fluminense 0-0 Borussia Dortmund - MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey
Group E: River Plate 3-1 Urawa Red Diamonds - Lumen Field, Seattle
Group F: Ulsan HD 0-1 Mamelodi Sundowns - Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando

Wednesday June 18

Group E: Monterrey 1-1 Inter Milan - Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles
Group G: Man City 2-0 Wydad AC - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Group H: Real Madrid 1-1 Al Hilal - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
Group H: CF Pachuca 1-2 FC Salzburg - TQL Stadium, Cincinnati

Thursday June 19

Group G: Al Ain 0-5 Juventus - Audi Field, Washington, D.C
Group A: Palmeiras vs Al Ahly - MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 5pm
Group A: Inter Miami vs Porto - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; kick off 8pm
Group B: Seattle Sounders vs Atletico Madrid - Lumen Field, Seattle; kick off 8pm
Group B: PSG vs Botafogo - Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles; kick off 11pm

Friday June 20

Group C: Benfica vs Auckland City - Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando; kick off 5pm
Group D: Flamengo vs Chelsea - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 7pm
Group D: Los Angeles FC vs Esperance de Tunis - GEODIS Park, Nashville; kick off 10pm

Club Leon removed from Club World Cup after failing to meet criteria on multi-club ownership

Club Leon have been removed from the Club World Cup as it and another Mexican club in the tournament, CF Pachuca, failed to meet criteria on multi-club ownership.

"FIFA has determined that Club Leon will be removed from the competition, with the club to be admitted as a replacement to be announced in due course," FIFA said in a statement.

Pachuca’s spot at the competition in America is unaffected. Club Leon were due to be in the same group as Chelsea.

Saturday June 21

Group C: Bayern Munich vs Boca Juniors - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami; kick off 2am
Group F: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Bosurissa Dortmund - TQL Stadium, Cincinnati; kick off 5pm
Group E: Inter Milan vs Urawa Red Diamonds - Lumen Field, Seattle; kick off 5pm
Group F: Fluminense vs Ulsan HD - MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 11pm
Group E: River Plate vs Monterrey - Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles; kick off 11pm

Sunday, 22 June

Group G: Juventus vs Wydad AC - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 5pm
Group H: Real Madrid vs CF Pachuca - Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte; kick off 8pm
Group H: FC Salzburg vs Al Hilal - Audi Field, Washington, D.C; kick off 11pm

Monday, 23 June

Group G: Man City vs Al Ain - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; kick off 2am
Group B: Seattle Sounders vs PSG - Lumen Field, Seattle; kick off 5pm
Group B: Atletico Madrid vs Botafogo - Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles; kick off 5pm

Tuesday, 24 June

Group A: Inter Miami vs Palmeiras - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami; kick off 2am
Group A: Porto vs Al Ahly - MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 2am
Group C: Auckland City vs Boca Juniors - GEODIS Park, Nashville; kick off 7pm
Group C: Benfica vs Bayern Munich - Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte; kick off 8pm

Wednesday, 25 June

Group D: Los Angeles FC vs Flamengo - Camping World Stadium, Orlando; kick off 2am
Group D: Esperance de Tunis vs Chelsea - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 2am
Group F: Borussia Dortmund vs Ulsan HD - TQL Stadium, Cincinnati; kick off 8pm
Group F: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Fluminense - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami; kick off 8pm
Group E: Inter Milan vs River Plate - Lumen Field, Seattle; kick off 11pm
Group E: Urawa Red Diamonds vs Monterrey - Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles; kick off 11pm

Thursday, 26 June

Group G: Juventus vs Man City - Camping World Stadium, Orlando; kick off 8pm
Group G: Wydad AC vs Al Ain - Audi Field, Washington, D.C; kick off 8pm

Friday, 27 June

Group H: Al Hilal vs CF Pachuca - GEODIS Park, Nashville; kick off 1am
Group H: FC Salzburg vs Real Madrid - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 2am

Knockout stage - round of 16

Saturday, 28 June

Match 49: Group A winners vs Group B runners-up - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 5pm
Match 50: Group C winners vs Group D runners-up - Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte; kick off 9pm

Sunday, 29 June

Match 51: Group B winners vs Group A runners-up - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; kick off 5pm
Match 52: Group D winners vs Group C runners-up - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami; kick off 9pm

Monday, 30 June

Match 53: Group E winners vs Group F runners-up - Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte; kick off 8pm

Tuesday, 31 June

Match 54: Group G winners vs Group H runners-up - Camping World Stadium, Orlando; kick off 2am

Tuesday, 1 July

Match 55: Group H winners vs Group G runners-up - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami; kick off 8pm

Wednesday, 2 July

Match 56: Group F winners vs Group E runners-up - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; kick off 2am

Quarter-final fixtures

Friday, 4 July

Match 57: Winner match 53 vs Winner match 54 - Camping World Stadium, Orlando; kick off 8pm

Saturday, 5 July

Match 58: Winner match 49 vs Winner match 50 - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 2am
Match 59: Winner match 51 vs Winner match 52 - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; kick off 5pm
Match 60: Winner match 55 vs Winner match 56 - MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 9pm