After the Club World Cup, is the World League? Pro-Trump + Saudi FIFA's Move, Where Are We Going
Jul 13, 2025
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On the 13th (Korea time), ahead of the 2025 Club World Cup final. Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, held a press conference at Trump Tower in New York, USA, declared as follows. The Club World Cup is the first case in which FIFA's control, which has remained at the continental-national association level, has expanded to the club domain. Infantino's remarks are interpreted as a de facto declaration of victory while praising the success of the Club World Cup.
When FIFA announced its plan to expand and reorganize the Club World Cup, the majority of the opposition was. Europe, which holds soccer hegemony, has become the center. Big clubs such as Real Madrid (Spain) also hinted at the possibility of a boycott. However, when FIFA announced the total prize money of $1 billion (about 1.3795 trillion won), more than double that of the Qatar World Cup ($440 million), the complaint disappeared as if when it did. In the course of the tournament, complaints continued due to weather, facilities, and crowd mobilization, but FIFA considers the tournament a success. Infantino said, `This tournament generated more than $2 billion (about 2.7 trillion won) in revenue and made an average of $33 million per game. The number is larger than any other cup competition in the world. "The number of spectators is more than 2.5 million, with an average of 40,000 per game. Except for the English Premier League (EPL), these figures cannot be seen in any league in the world.
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The most noticeable thing during the Club World Cup is the advertisement of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. Middle East national capital such as NEOM were often seen participating as sponsors in Asian Football Confederation (AFC) host countries and club competitions, but they were unfamiliar at world rescue competitions. In particular, it is unusual for PIF, which is far from the consumer goods industry, to transmit advertisements through electronic boards throughout the competition. European media speculate that the role of PIF led by Muhammad bin Salman Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia's heavyweight and the world's richest man, was absolutely the reason FIFA was able to push the Club World Cup despite opposition from UEFA and clubs.
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The Independent, a British Internet media outlet, said, `Infantino acted like a founder like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos throughout the competition. There is a view that PIF's help was absolute to prove that it could lead this Club World Cup successfully, but several clubs have attempted to sell their shares to PIF. "(If the investment of the Saudi professional league and the PIF continues), some predict that India's T20 World Cup victory in 2007 will cause a big bang like the Indian Premier League (IPL) dominated cricket,' he said. "'In the future, big European clubs may use their influence over FIFA to demand Saudi clubs introduce PSR (share price sales ratio) rules.'" In addition, fans in South America were enthusiastic about the Club World Cup, and the ratings of terrestrial channels were good, but Europe was the opposite. It depends on the individual's perspective and the continent they belong to whether the competition was actually successful and whether it is worth continuing.' At the same time, A22 officials (who proposed a Unify League to replace the European Champions League) and Real Madrid President Florentino Perez recently met in New Jersey. According to sources, they are also studying a method of dividing domestic leagues, A-match weeks, and international competitions into similar periods within a year on the task force within FIFA. It is regarded as a simple idea discussion, but it seems clear that FIFA is working on plans to prepare for the following, including the ESL.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
