Is it indifference or a certain blame? 50,000 seats empty in the stands against Chelsea LA at the Club World Cup

Jun 17, 2025

Is it indifference or a certain blame? 50,000 seats empty in the stands against Chelsea LA at the Club World Cup



Is it indifference or a certain blame? 50,000 seats empty in the stands against Chelsea LA at the Club World Cup
"Are you indifferent or is it because of the schedule?"

The British media expressed concern and dissatisfaction with Chelsea's success after the first match of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Chelsea won 2-0 in the first match of the FIFA Club World Cup at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta at 4 a.m. on the 17th (Korea time) thanks to consecutive goals from Pedro Netu and Fernandez. The disappointing number of spectators has emerged as a hot topic as Tunis, Flamengo, LAFC and Chelsea, which belong to the Hanjo group, lightly reported their first win. The BBC said Chelsea played in an empty stadium with 50,000 seats. Is it because of indifference or because of a bad schedule?'




The stadium can accommodate 71,000 people, and the number of spectators counted on the day was 22,137. The game was played with nearly 50,000 seats empty. Tongcheon was laid over the top of the stands to cover up the empty seats even a little. It was quite an unfamiliar atmosphere for Chelsea, a big club in the English Premier League, who ran in the heat of the packed audience every game. Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said "The environment was a bit strange. The stadium was almost empty. It wasn't full. But we have to adapt to the environment because we are professionals. You have to adapt even in a packed stadium, and you have to adapt even when you don't. It doesn't matter.'

When asked about the number of spectators, Los Angeles FC coach Steve Cherundolo responded, `I think it's different for each gameThe match between PSG and Atletico Madrid at the LA Rose Bowl drew a huge crowd. Los Angeles may be more passionate about soccer than Atlanta, but it's the final thing to see and judge."

Criticism continues over Chelsea's first game and its crushing defeat in the match against LA FC, the U.S. team. As the distance between LA and Atlanta is 3,200 kilometers away, it is not easy for LA supporters to attend at 3 p.m. local time on Monday. LA FC participated on behalf of disqualified Leon, and 150 enthusiastic supporters led the on-site cheering atmosphere.




According to the BBC, FIFA's expected audience was 26,000, and most of the middle floors were sold out, but more than half of the lower floors were empty. As the price of tickets fell before the game, the cheapest ticket was sold for 37 pounds (about 68,000 won) and fell to 26 pounds (about 48,000 won) online during the game, but the seats were not filled.

The BBC said 'The Club World Cup, which is currently being newly expanded in the United States, is considered a rehearsal for the North-China-US World Cup next year'Ticket sales are slow and the week-on-week game was also introduced for the first time in the tournament. Introducing the schedule that 'two to three games are held every week at noon, 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. during the working hours until the end of the group stage on the 26th'Chelsea played a friendly against Newcastle in the summer pre-season two years ago at the stadium, and it was almost sold out with more than 70,000 spectators at the time. 'This stadium is home to Atlanta United, MLS's biggest-gathering football team, with an average attendance of 44,037 and a men's and women's A-match being held as well,' he added.

Is it indifference or a certain blame? 50,000 seats empty in the stands against Chelsea LA at the Club World Cup
The BBC also introduced interviews with local U.S. reporters, saying, `The question on everyone's lips at the scene is whether this crowd figure is simply because fans are not interested in the newly reorganized Club World Cup, or whether this indifference could lead to the North-China-US World Cup next year.' Journalist Doug Robertson of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution replied "Not because people are not interested in football." "The reason why not many people came is because it's 3 p.m. on Monday. Honestly, I was surprised that so many people came." "Because this is a new competition that doesn't mean much to Americans. It wouldn't have been attractive to pay for a tournament that people don't know when they're trying to save money because the World Cup will be held next year. "If I were FIFA, I would have set a game time for more people to come for the World Cup. Ticket prices were also ridiculously high." Jonathan Tannebald, a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, pointed out FIFA's marketing problems. "You have to do a lot of marketing to get the audience this far. It's hard to expect people to just come. There was no real local organizing committee in the United States. It is because FIFA handled everything from within." "Will people come when we go up to the tournament stage? Maybe it will come. But the ticket price is too high and should we come to the qualifying match between Chelsea and LAFC in Atlanta on a weekday afternoon? It won't be. People are smarter than that. FIFA's responsibility..."




BBC football reporter Phil McNulty said 50,000 empty seats would come as a shame for FIFA. There have long been concerns that this new contest, forced into a tight schedule, will be difficult to attract public attention"The sea of empty red seats against Chelsea and LA FC was a terrible confirmation.", he pointed out. "One of the factors may have been the start of the match at 3 p.m. U.S. time on Monday, and the game may have been difficult to attract regional attention, but the absence of spectators would have also inconvenienced FIFA's top management and confident chairman Gianni Infantino." "This could be an early warning to FIFA that ticket prices for next year's World Cup in North Korea and the U.S. should be within a realistic and reasonable range."



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.