Why Are There So Many Empty Seats at the Club World Cup?

Attendances at the start of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup have been mixed.

There’s been a mixed response to the revamped Club World Cup so far. / IMAGO

Gianni Infantino may well have been too busy handing iShowSpeed the keys to the footballing world to realise, but the swathe of empty seats which littered Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Monday was not a good look for his brainchild.

Infantino’s revamped FIFA Club World Cup has been condemned by cynics to be nothing more than a mere money grab, although some have welcomed the idea as a chance for the rest of the world to showcase their stuff against omnipotent European juggernauts.

The United States was deemed a suitable host nation a year before the World Cup proper returns to North America. This summer’s tournament could be seen as a trial run for 2026 when fervent supporters from 48 nations will descend upon 16 cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Five of the stadia proposed for next summer’s grand festival are being put to use for this Club World Cup, but the response from supporters has so far been mixed at best. The bulk of the highlights have been supplied by travelling South Americans and North Africans, but the utopia Infantino seemingly dreamed of is yet to come to pass.

Why have there been so many empty seats?

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Attendances at the 2025 Club World Cup So Far

Fixture	Location	Attendance	% of Capacity
Al Ahly vs. Inter Miami	Hard Rock Stadium, Miami	60,927	93
Bayern Munich vs. Auckland City	TQL Stadium, Cincinnati	21,152	81
PSG vs. Atletico Madrid	Rose Bowl, Pasadena	80,619	90
Palmeiras vs. Porto	MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford	46,275	56
Botafogo vs. Seattle Sounders	Lumen Field, Seattle	30,151	44
Chelsea vs. LAFC	Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta	22,137	32
Boca Juniors vs. Benfica	Hard Rock Stadium, Miami	55,574	85
Flamengo vs. ES Tunis	Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia	25,797	38

*table correct as of Tuesday, June 17 (7.30 a.m. ET)

It hasn‘t been all bad on the attendance front at the start of the tournament. There have been no sellouts as the FIFA president promised, but stadiums were at least 81% full for half of the first six games.

93% of seats were filled for the opening match between Inter Miami and Al Ahly—largely thanks to a frantic slashing of previously extortionate ticket prices—while over 80,000 watched on as European champions Paris Saint-Germain thumped Atlético Madrid 4–0 at the Rose Bowl.

MetLife Stadium, host of next month’s final as well as the equivalent international showpiece event next summer, was barely half full for its first game of the tournament between Palmeiras and Porto. But a remarkable atmosphere was still generated by the Brazilians in New Jersey, which gave the impression that the stadium was filled to the rafters.

It was a similar story for Flamengo’s 2–0 win over ES Tunis, with both sets of fans contributing to a vibrant cacophony at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Only 38% of the stadium was filled, but there was an absence of soullessness which swathes of empty seats usually supply.

High ticket prices, poor marketing and strict security measures are said to be major factors for the lack of sellouts, and there were more unique circumstances at play to explain the “strange”, as Enzo Maresca put it, environment in which Chelsea defeated LAFC 2–0 on Monday.

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Why Were There So Many Empty Seats at Chelsea vs. LAFC?

Much was made of the empty seats in Atlanta for Chelsea’s Club World Cup opener. / IMAGO/Zuma Press Wire

It appeared as if barely any were in attendance for the start of Chelsea’s Club World Cup opener, with the upper tier at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta completely bare.

FIFA didn’t confirm how many tickets were sold for Monday’s game, but the official attendance was listed at a perhaps generous 22,137—just 32% of the stadium’s 71,000 capacity. More did filter in as the contest progressed.

While the fixture kicked off in prime time for Chelsea supporters in the UK (8 p.m. BST), locals perhaps had alternative plans on a sweltering summer Monday afternoon. The infamous Atlanta traffic may have deterred more, and others likely weren’t aware that this event was taking place.

FIFA have reportedly spent over $50 million (£37 million) to market the tournament in a bid to boost interest, but the utilisation of social media influencers seemingly failed to convince Atlantans to spend $52 (£38.4) for the reported cheapest ticket available to enjoy Monday’s fixture in person.

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