مدير عام كرة القدم
- Lalas termed the tournament an "imperfect work in progress"
- FOX analyst believes FIFA would acknowledge organizational shortcomings
- Media attention and successful adjustments highlighted as proof of concept
U.S. international Alexi Lalas provided his evaluation of the expanded 32-team FIFA Club كأس العالم tournament, which has faced significant criticism for issues including playing conditions, scheduling, and venue preparations. The month-long tournament recently ended with Chelsea beating French side باريس سان جيرمان 3-0 in the final, but it had its fair share of issues over the course of the month. Lalas characterised the competition as an “imperfect work in progress” but argued that its ability to attract global attention and adapt to challenges demonstrated its fundamental viability as a concept.
“I think this is talk about a case study and a fascinating case study,” Lalas said on his State of the Union podcast. “I think that the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup this summer was absolutely kind of an imperfect work in progress. And I think that FIFA and Gianni Infantino would admit that. But I think it’s also hard to call it anything else but a success.
“When you expand to 32 teams, you move it to summer. All of the media attention, both good and bad, but the attention that it garnered, the massive prize money for the teams, and not for nothing, but according to FIFA, $2 billion in revenue. And I think it’s important for some perspectives, this bears very little resemblance to previous Club World Cups, regardless of what you called them.”
Lalas added that he believes this tournament is the way going forward in the future and not reverting back to the original format that was used in the past.
“I think this is certainly the way to the future,” Lalas added. “This is where the work in progress and imperfect situation come. You know, the complaining about the weather and the heat and the delayed games, who knows, maybe that informs what happens next summer. And they’ve already talked about the scheduling of the timing of games in order to mitigate some of that heat, the indoor games that are going to happen. And maybe, you know, focusing on that and trying to again mitigate some of the weather circumstances that are going on in the final in and of itself. “
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The tournament has revealed both the potential and pitfalls of FIFA’s ambitious expansion strategy for club competitions. Despite numerous operational challenges including extreme heat, questionable playing surfaces, and weather disruptions, the competition has generated substantial media coverage and fan interest. FIFA has already, reportedly, taken that into consideration ahead of the 2026 World Cup that will be held next summer across North America.
FIFA will conduct a comprehensive review of the tournament organization with specific focus on addressing the issues identified during this inaugural expanded edition with an aim at improving the World Cup.
