FIFA Club World Cup 2025 records one million vacant seats during group stage: Report

Big European clubs have also failed to attract enough fans during their games in the mega tournament.

With a year to go, the United States will organise the 2026 World Cup. The fun part is that things aren’t going as predicted in the country for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. The group stage games have seen a million vacant seats in the stadium throughout the 48 games played so far.

Nine European teams made it to the round of 16. The rest slots include four from Brazil and one each from Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and the USA’s very own Major League Soccer.

The 48 group stage games in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, which drew spectators of 3,412 and 6,730 in Orlando, Florida, and 5,282 and 8,239 in Cincinnati, were around 56.7% of the publicly listed total. The Associated Press repeatedly asked FIFA to release the exact numbers of seats for the event, but they refused.

FIFA Club World Cup 2025 records poor attendance in the group stage of the competition

With a capacity of 2.95 million, the total attendance was 1.67 million, or 34,746 on average.

Merely 44.9% of the seats were occupied for five games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which will host the World Cup final the following year. Moreover, only 50% at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the location of the 1994 title game.

The capacity filled in the other 2026 FIFA World Cup locations was 44.3% in Atlanta, 61.6% in Philadelphia, 52% in Seattle, and 81.8% in Miami Gardens, Florida.

FIFA issued a statement that said:

“The appetite of the tournament speaks for itself: fans from 168 countries have already purchased tickets … a clear sign of global anticipation and reach.”

Through Monday, an average of 360,000 people watched the 12 FIFA Club World Cup 2025 games that were broadcast with English commentary on TNT, TBS, and truTV. Meanwhile, 409,000 average people watched seven of the same format contests on the weekends and evenings.

Even though prominent clubs and potential World Cup locations are included to verify operational readiness, the group stage has been unimpressive. However, with the inclusion of elite teams like Real Madrid, Manchester City, PSG, and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in the knockout stages, organisers are now counting on an increase in enthusiasm and attendance at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.

Whether the knockouts can give the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 the much-needed boost as it approaches its conclusion is still up in the air.

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