FIFA announced yesterday that the $1M from the soccer governing body that Club World Cup host cities will receive will go “to support community soccer projects in the future,” according to Safid Deen of USA TODAY. Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, L.A., Miami, Nashville, N.Y./N.J., Orlando, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington D.C. will host Club World Cup games, and “benefit from FIFA’s ‘legacy contributions’ intended to help build small community-focused pitches and leave an impact following this summer’s tournament” (USA TODAY, 4/10). In Philadelphia, Kerith Gabriel noted FIFA President Gianni Infantino spoke at an event at Lincoln Financial Field in which officials from FIFA, the Eagles, and the city, including Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, were on hand. Afterward, “fans took photos with the FIFA Club World Cup trophy and the Eagles’ two Lombardi trophies in the stadium’s Red Zone suites.” Additionally, Infantino and FIFA “disclosed plans to create FIFA Foundation USA to oversee the distribution of its contributions to the 11 U.S. cities hosting the Club World Cup.” A FIFA source noted that the money “most likely would be presented after the Club World Cup” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 4/10).
POLITICS AT PLAY: The AP’s Dan Gelston wrote that this week on Ticketmaster or “most secondary market websites,” there are “plenty of seats still available at various stadiums” for this year’s Club World Cup in the U.S. The current U.S. political climate “could be enough to scare off fans” from traveling overseas for the games. Infantino met with U.S. President Donald Trump last month in the Oval Office to hype this event and next year’s World Cup. Infantino said that he “received assurances” from the White House that “any foreign fans would be in good hands during their time in the United States” (AP, 4/10).
HYPE TOUR: In Philadelphia, Jonathan Tannenwald said that the Club World Cup “hasn’t yet been seen as a big deal,” which FIFA has “implicitly acknowledged” by taking Infantino on a publicity tour of the tournament’s host cities. He said it out loud as he spoke in front of the trophy. Infantino: “It will be a celebration of soccer, and the stadiums will be full, and fans will be coming from all over the world. Buy tickets. There are still a few available” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 4/10).
