The Club World Cup , in its new, expanded format, has drawn much criticism, particularly regarding the overall atmosphere and stadium attendance. While FIFA's goal is to make it a global showcase for club football, the reality on the ground appears quite different. Several matches, including those involving clubs that are champions of their continent, are taking place in front of sparse or even empty stands. This low attendance raises questions not only about the choice of venues—often far from the fan bases of the participating clubs—but also about the relevance of the calendar, which is sometimes out of step with national seasons. The result is a sanitized atmosphere, disconnected from the fervor one would expect from a tournament of this level. The popular enthusiasm, essential to the prestige and intensity of such a competition, seems to have been sacrificed on the altar of football's commercial and geopolitical expansion.
This lack of atmosphere is felt even in the pace and commitment of the matches themselves, where the absence of a crowd acts as an anesthetic. The players play in oversized and empty stadiums, where every instruction from a coach resonates like in a gymnasium. This void of sound and emotion undermines the intensity that a Club World Cup should embody, supposedly pitting the world's elite against each other. The experience of the fans, whether they are on site or behind their screens, is considerably impoverished. The sporting spectacle cannot fully exist without its living backdrop: chants, applause, collective tension. This imbalance between the stated ambition of the tournament and its reality on the pitch illustrates an increasingly blatant dissonance between the major governing bodies of world football and the fundamental expectations of the public. The match between Ulsan and Mamelodi , played in front of a stadium evacuated due to a tornado, is a striking symbol of this.
Only 97 spectators at kick-off!
The match between Ulsan Hyundai and Mamelodi Sundowns, played as part of the 2025 Club World Cup, will be remembered not only for its sporting outcome, but also for its extraordinary setting. Scheduled for the 25,000-seat Inter&Co Stadium, the match welcomed only 97 spectators at kickoff, a surprisingly low attendance. But the real drama came on the sidelines of kickoff, when authorities ordered the immediate evacuation of the stands due to a tornado warning. Spectators, as well as non-essential personnel, were forced to take shelter, leaving the two teams to face off in a completely empty stadium. This apocalyptic setting, accentuated by a threatening sky and gusts of wind, plunged players and viewers into an atmosphere as strange as it was unprecedented at this level of competition. When the match resumed, more than an hour late, 3,412 people were registered, according to official figures. On the sporting front, Mamelodi Sundowns managed to hold their own despite these disruptive circumstances.
Facing a well-organized and disciplined South Korean side, Ulsan Hyundai, the South Africans showed patience and pragmatism. They finally found the opening goal thanks to a decisive move in the second half, concluded with composure. This goal, enough to seal the fate of the match (0-1), propels Sundowns provisionally to the top of Group F. Their performance is all the more remarkable because they were able to maintain their concentration in a completely atypical context, without the support or pressure of a crowd. For their part, Ulsan started the competition poorly with regrets, having failed to capitalize on their strong moments, and having let their chance slip away in an extraordinary match where even the weather invited itself as a major actor. While FIFA persists in making this Club World Cup a global showcase, the warning signs are multiplying: disaffection of the public, frozen atmospheres, lackluster matches. By trying too hard to expand its global footprint, club football seems to be losing what made it so strong: the energy of the stands and the shared emotion. For this tournament to establish itself in the long term, it will need to quickly find a balance between economic ambition and popular passion.
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