04/06/2025

Read

iPaper at Malaysian Paper

www.thesun.my Free access to iPaper PDF Download

app from the App Store or Google Play TM . Malaysian Paper or download

SCAN ME

SCAN ME

WEDNESDAY | JUNE 4, 2025

Malaysian Paper

Billion dollar gamble

Inaugural Club World Cup set to kick off in the US amid challenges

F IFA’S gamble to revolutionise club football begins next weekend with plenty of cash up for grabs but questionable enthusiasm as 32 teams prepare to contest the expanded Club World Cup in 12 stadiums across the United States. The tournament – designed as a glittering showcase ahead of the 2026 World Cup – has had to contend with the prospect of empty seats along with controversial qualification rules and player welfare concerns after an exhausting European season. Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami face Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahly in the opening fixture on June 15 (8am Malaysian time) at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, with tickets still widely available days before kickoff. A glance at Fifa’s website shows lots of tickets available, including for the July 13 final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. Messi’s presence underscores the tournament’s contentious foundations. Inter Miami gained entry by topping Major League Soccer’s regular season standings, despite losing in the first round of the playoffs – a decision critics say shows Fifa’s desperation to have the Argentina great at their inaugural showpiece. Fifa’s decision to give the host nation a spot and award it to Inter Miami underlined the opaque nature of the qualifying criteria for the tournament, which won’t feature Liverpool, Barcelona or Napoli who have all just been crowned champions of three of the most prestigious leagues in Europe. Apart from the winners of each confederation’s premier club competitions, teams qualified according to a ranking based on their performances over a four-year period. There is also the case of Club Leon, the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup winners, who were excluded from the tournament just over a month

quelled concerns about player welfare, with the global players union FifPro taking legal action against Fifa over a tournament that further compresses the precious recovery time between gruelling seasons. Furthermore there is still concern over the playing surfaces after last season’s Copa America, when many headlines focused on the sub-par conditions and smaller pitch dimensions. Those pitches, measuring 100m by 64m, were 740sq m smaller than Fifa’s standard size, prompting widespread discontent among players and coaches. Fifa has given assurances that this time the NFL stadiums hosting the matches will meet their specifications, confirming that all venues will feature natural grass and adhere to the standard regulation dimensions of 105m by 68m. Divided into eight groups of four teams, top contenders include Real Madrid, winners of six of the last 12 Champions League titles, plus German champions Bayern Munich and 2023 Premier League and Champions League winners Manchester City. European champions Paris St Germain are the in-form team heading into the tournament after their historic 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan in the Champions League final on Sunday. But they must survive a tough Group B featuring South American and Brazilian champions Botafogo and 2024 Concacaf winners Seattle Sounders plus Spanish giants Atletico Madrid. Whether you call it soccer or football, for Fifa the tournament represents a dress rehearsal and a referendum on America’s appetite for the sport and on the world governing body’s vision for its commercial future ahead of the 2026 World Cup being co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada. – Reuters

TEAMS & GROUPS Group A: Palmeiras (Brz), Porto

(Por), Al Ahly (Egy), Inter Miami (USA). Group B: Paris Saint-Germain (Fra), Atletico Madrid (Esp), Botafogo (Brz), Seattle Sounders (USA). Group C: Bayern Munich (Ger), Benfica (Por), Boca Juniors (Arg), Auckland City (Nzl). Group D: Flamengo (Brz), Chelsea (Eng), ES Tunis (Tun), Los Angeles FC (USA). Group E: River Plate (Arg), Inter Milan (Ita), CF Monterrey (Mex), Urawa Red Diamonds (Jpn). Group F: Fluminense (Brz), Borussia Dortmund (Ger), Ulsan HD (Kor), Mamelodi Sundowns (Rsa). Group G: Man City (Eng), Juventus (Ita), Wydad AC (Mor), Al Ain (UAE) Group H: Real Madrid (Esp), FC Salzburg (Aut), Al Hilal (Rsa), CF Pachuca (Mex).

e x p e c t e d

ago due to having shared ownership

revenues. That led Fifa to announce a total prize pot of US$1b, with the winning club to receive up to US$125 million. That figure represents 25% more than Paris St Germain earned from their entire 17-match Champions League campaign. But this largesse has not

with

another qualifier. The spot has gone to MLS’s Los Angeles FC.

Nailing down a last-gasp US$1 billion (RM4.25b) TV rights deal with sports streaming platform DAZN six months before the tournament means a total of US$2b (RM8.5b) in

I can play better: Djokovic

Hungry for more

Sorry hardest word for Max

- dest Max Story on page 28

- Story on page 29

- Story on page 30

theSun is published and printed by Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd (221220-K) of Lot 6, Jalan 51/217, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel: 03-7784 6688 • Tel (Editorial): 03-7784 6688 Fax: 03-7785 2625 Email: newsdesk@thesundaily.com • Tel (Advertising): 03-7784 8888 Email: advertise@thesundaily.com