Gianni Infantino may well have been too busy handing iShowSpeed the keys to the footballing world to realise, but the swathe of empty seats which littered Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Monday was not a good look for his brainchild.
Infantino’s revamped FIFA Club World Cup has been condemned by cynics to be nothing more than a mere money grab, although some have welcomed the idea as a chance for the rest of the world to showcase their stuff against omnipotent European juggernauts.
The United States was deemed a suitable host nation a year before the World Cup returns to North America. This summer’s tournament could be seen as a trial run for 2026 when fervent supporters from 48 nations will descend upon 16 cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Five of the stadia proposed for next summer’s grand festival are being put to use for this Club World Cup, but the response from supporters has so far been mixed at best. The bulk of the highlights have been supplied by travelling South Americans and North Africans, but the utopia Infantino seemingly dreamed of is yet to come to pass.
Why have there been so many empty seats?
Watch the FIFA Club World Cup live and on-demand here
