Ahead of the much-anticipated final match of the Club World Cup, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has described the revamped tournament as the highest-valued club competition in the world.
European duo Paris Saint-Germain of France and English giants Chelsea will face off in Sunday’s final as the curtains on the competition, which has broken records in leaps and bounds, fold up at the famous MetLife Stadium in New York.
“In terms of value, at over USD 33 million per game, the @fifaclubworldcup is the world’s highest-valued club competition per match, and all this money will be reinvested into club football”, Infantino said at a media briefing on the eve of the final.
According to the FIFA President, the numbers undoubtedly rank the 32-team tournament at the summit compared to other club competitions, making the FIFA Club World Cup the most sought-after.
Despite initial challenges as expected of every new competition, the tournament has lived up to its billing, and Sunday’s final will be a befitting end to a month’s fiesta of fine football in the United States of America.
“The FIFA Club World Cup has taken over the United States and united people in joy. We have created a unique tournament that celebrates diversity and has given an opportunity to teams from all six continents to engage in meaningful competition.
“Fans from 168 countries have enjoyed coming together at the stadiums, with almost 40,000 spectators on average per game, bringing great positivity, energy, enthusiasm, and passion,” he added.
As a curtain raiser to next year’s FIFA World Cup to be hosted by the USA, and neighbours Canada and Mexico, the competition has reached a record global audience of more than 2 billion across different territories.
“Overall, more than 2 billion people have watched the tournament, highlighting its global appeal, and a big thanks to DAZN for allowing everyone, everywhere, to watch the matches for free.
“A big thanks to everyone involved with the tournament.We are excited to crown the first official FIFA club world champions in@metlifestadium tomorrow,” he said.
At stake is a 40 million USD prize for the winner who also gets the lifetime opportunity of lifting the magnificent trophy.
Prior to the start, FIFA announced a prize pool of 1 billion USD for the competition.
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