FIFA will host their first Club World Cup, which has caused much controversy in the football world, as another tournament is introduced into the already busy calendar. The tournament will consist of 32 teams from across the world, with 12 teams coming from Europe, and the draw is to be held on Thursday evening.
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will be Spain’s representatives in 2025, and it was picked up on that Los Blancos did not include any income from the competition as part of their 2024-25 budget. That is in part due to the uncertainty over what that figure will be.
Initially FIFA had planned for a competition that would bring in around €2b, but their estimation is unlikely to be on the mark. Marca say that the famous €50m for participation is now a thing of the past, and the reality is that sum will be much lower. The winner of the competition will make €100m or near that figure, but the average will be lower, and neither will the share be equal.
🇪🇸🔴⚪️ Koke: “After the Betis loss, we had a very important team meeting. We all needed to understand where we stood, and that conversation helped us a lot. That’s why the team is performing at the level it is today.”@marca pic.twitter.com/IZ49W5eMNU
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) December 5, 2024
The share of the pot will be much lower too. The broadcast deal done with DAZN will amount to €1b, which together with the ticket money will make up the majority of the income from the tournament. It is predicted that of the total, European teams will take home around 70% of the income, leaving just 30% to be distributed between the other 22 teams.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has claimed that the governing body will not be dipping into their reserves to fund the new competition, amid doubts about it’s financial viability. The tournament has also faced questions about whether there is any merit to qualifying, as Inter Miami will be there despite losing in the first round of the MLS play-offs.
