The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup begins this weekend, featuring 32 of the world’s top teams competing in a format that includes group and knockout stages, concluding on July 13th.
Will it be of interest? It has the feel of an overreach in terms of fan engagement, and with TV coverage restricted to DAZN and Channel 5 in the UK, it is hard to see it gaining significant traction.
Initially launched with limited commercial backing, the tournament now boasts a full roster of corporate partners.
These include global giants such as Adidas, Coca-Cola, Visa, Budweiser, Qatar Airways, Aramco, Lenovo, Hyundai-Kia, Hisense, Bank of America, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Several of these brands, including Budweiser and Visa, are set to activate global campaigns, but these will likely be targeted at the countries where the participating clubs are coming from..
“These partnerships reflect the confidence in the Club World Cup’s global reach and sporting value,” said an optimistic sounding Romy Gai, FIFA’s Chief Business Officer.
“Budweiser is reviving its ‘Bring Home The Bud’ campaign, while Visa will lead digital fan engagement efforts and Qatar Airways will offer tournament travel packages,” he added.
The games will be played across 12 US Cities, with the opening game at the home of the Miami Dolphins and the Final at the home of the New York Jets and Giants in New Jersey.
European teams taking part include Chelsea and Manchester City from England, Real Madrid, Juventus, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto, Benfica, and Borussia Dortmund.
Streaming service DAZN has secured global rights to all 63 matches and will provide free-to-view access to fans in over 100 countries, including Ireland. Viewers can stream every match live or on demand in HD via the DAZN app or website, with no subscription fee required, only a registered account.
It has sublicensed rights in several countries, but nobody has picked up here in Ireland yet.
The closing stages will clash with the UEFA Euro Women’s Finals in Switzerland, which will have extensive coverage on RTÉ2. An audience of nearly 200,000 tuned into the Final of this in 2022.
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Not sure what the level of interest is going to be like, much will depend on the perception of how seriously the clubs are taking it.
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