MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Next year, the U.S. will host the bulk of the World Cup - the men's tournament. There is another major international soccer tournament kicking off tomorrow, Saturday, in Miami. This one involves club teams from around the globe and features some of the world's best players. They'll be competing for the FIFA Club World Cup. NPR's Rafael Nam is here with more. Hi there.
RAFAEL NAM, BYLINE: Hey, Mary Louise.
KELLY: So I follow soccer pretty closely. I have not heard a lot about this tournament. What's it all about?
NAM: So it's essentially the turbocharged version of a tournament that's been around for around 20 years. There has been - so there has been previous versions of the Club World Cup, but it used to be kind of low key and a lot smaller. It was held in different countries, like Japan or Saudi Arabia, and it was made up of the winners of the top regional championships around the world - around six or seven of them, depending on the year. The winner of the Champions League in Europe, for example, or the winner of the Copa Libertadores in South America.
KELLY: So it sounds like this time around it is going to look a little different?
NAM: Yeah. It's still a mix of continental champions, but there are now a lot more of them, including winners from recent years and others based on regional rankings. There are popular teams, like Manchester City from England, Real Madrid from Spain or River Plate in Argentina, but also others around the world that are not so well-known, like Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa or Ulsan from South Korea. In total, 32 teams playing a total of 63 games in 11 cities all across the United States.
The opening game is tomorrow in Miami, like you said, Mary Louise, with the final next month in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Here's how Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, describes it.
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GIANNI INFANTINO: Starting on the 14 of June, for the first time in history, the 32 best clubs in the world will compete in a tournament to determine, finally, who is the best club in the world.
NAM: The best club in the world - that sounds pretty good, right?
KELLY: Yeah.
NAM: Except there's a lot of skepticism from fans who wonder, is FIFA really crowning the best in the world or just the best in this particular tournament?
KELLY: Yeah. I mean, they're big teams you just mentioned - Man City, Real Madrid. Why has there not been very much buzz about this?
NAM: Well, there are several reasons for that. Because FIFA wants to make this more global and because it needs to plan a tournament this size in advance, it has led to some high-profile absences - Futbol Club Barcelona, which just won the league in Spain, or Liverpool, which just won the Premier League.
Another big issue here is that there are already so many popular soccer competitions around the world. The Premier League in England, for example, and then there's the Champions League in Europe. The list goes on. Can the Club World Cup be as competitive as those tournaments? FIFA believes so, and it has an ace up its sleeve. It's spending $1 billion to pay the participating teams, and the winner could receive more than $100 million.
KELLY: OK, I'll play. Put me in (laughter). Wait. What about fans? Are they excited about this tournament?
NAM: Now, so far, no. Ticket sales have been sluggish. Controversially, FIFA implemented dynamic pricing for this tournament, and it's had to slash prices. And tickets are still available. On paper, it sounds great. Here's a chance to see Bayern Munich, this huge German team.
KELLY: Yeah.
NAM: But the big question is, can - will people pay to see Bayern play Auckland City from New Zealand?
KELLY: We will watch and see. Rafael Nam, thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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