Club World Cup Faces Teething Test

Will fans bite or has Fifa bitten off more than it can chew with expanded event?

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MIAMI - With an eye-watering US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) in prize money, some of the biggest stars in the game and clubs competing from across the globe, Fifa's new Club World Cup has all the ingredients to be a huge event.

But the 32-team tournament, which will be played across the United States from June 14 to July 13, has faced criticism and scepticism the moment Fifa president Gianni Infantino floated the idea.

As a new arrival in an already crowded football landscape, it remains to be seen whether the competition proves able to carve out a regular place in the calendar.

Players' representatives, such as global union Fifpro, have warned of excessive workload on players while others have asked if fans will turn out in big enough numbers for the group-stage fixtures.

"Players will have to perform at the end of an 11-month season with little prospect of getting enough rest before the following season starts," Fifpro warned after the tournament was announced in 2023.

Certainly the event adds to an already busy schedule for the world's top players.