Chelsea Club World Cup opener TV figures released after stadium for win over LAFC was less than a third full

Daily Mail​

4 hours ago

The viewing figures for Chelsea 's Club World Cup opener against MLS side LAFC have now been released, and it makes for somewhat more encouraging reading than the in-ground attendance numbers.
The Blues got their campaign in the United States up and running with a fairly routine 2-0 win over LAFC - featuring former Premier League regulars Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris.
Pedro Neto scored a stunning opener in the first half, before Enzo Fernandez made sure of the points and put away any hopes of a fight back late on.
Yet one of the biggest talking points from the game was the fact that the 71,000-seater Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, appeared to be less than half full, in a bitter blow to FIFA.
However, with every single game shown for free on DAZN, and Channel 5 having the rights to select fixtures, Monday night's victory for the Blues was at least better received back home.
Figures published now show that there was an average audience of 1.4million for the game on 5, with 283,000 also tuning in for Boca Juniors draw with Benfica, which kicked off three hours later at 11pm.
As such, president of Paramount International Advertising Sales Lee Sears has described the reception of the Blues match as 'a standout moment'.
'Last night's FIFA Club World Cup match was a standout moment for 5, driving big numbers including new and hard to reach younger audiences to the channel,' Sears stated.
'It's a clear example of how premium live sport can outperform our channel average and deliver real value to both viewers and advertisers.'
With Atlanta United's home ground able to host over 70,000 fans, it was even more apparent from the broadcast pictures how few had bought tickets for the game.
LAFC had been backed by strong and vocal support for the game, though the cross-country trip to Georgia is naturally somewhat more forgiving than the trip across the Atlantic for Chelsea fans.
Reports suggest only 22,127 fans were actually at the game, which is being staged after the end of the European season.
Ticket prices were even slashed ahead of kick-off in a bid to entice football fans into attending, but seemingly to no avail.
While the game in Atlanta saw a surprising number of empty seats, Boca Juniors' clash with Benfica looked to almost be a home game for the Argentinian side, with the stands practically bouncing with supporters in encouraging scenes for FIFA.
In the wake of Monday evening's fixtures, though, LaLiga president Javier Tebas launched a scathing attack on the competition, claiming he now aims to 'eliminate' future Club World Cups.
Speaking at a LaLiga event, Tebas said: 'My goal is to ensure there are no more Club World Cups, that's very clear.'
Asked if improvements could be made for future editions, he said there were 'no dates' in the footballing calendar left and the competition should be 'eliminated'.
'There are no dates,' the 62-year-old said. 'There's no need for yet another competition that moves money to a sector of clubs and players and comes from somewhere.
'There's no more money here; we have to maintain the ecosystem and eliminate it.
'Keep it as it was before, which was a weekend. There's no way, neither in terms of dates, nor economics, nor maintaining the sustainability of football.'
The LaLiga president admitted he had watched 25 minutes of Chelsea's 2-0 win over Los Angeles but criticised the fixture for looking like 'a preseason friendly', adding 'I didn't see any intensity'.