Chelsea coach put off by ‘strange' environment for FIFA Club World Cup match in Atlanta

New York Post

5 hours ago

The number of empty seats at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was hard for Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca not to notice during his club's 2-0 win over MLS side Los Angeles FC in the group stage of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
While attendance was a hot topic of conversation heading into the tournament, early matches have been relatively well attended for the most part.
But on Monday afternoon in Atlanta, the Club World Cup saw its smallest crowd thus far, with only 22,197 fans on hand inside the 70,000-seat stadium that serves as home to both MLS' Atlanta United and the NFL's Falcons.
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3 Chelsea and Los Angeles FC are introduced before their match in a Club World Cup Group D soccer match in Atlanta, Monday, June 16, 2025. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
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'It was a good match, a good performance,' Maresca said during his post-match press conference. 'I think the environment was a bit strange. You know, the stadium was almost empty. Not full.'
The game appeared to face a few factors that could have played into the reason for the small crowd, including ticket prices and a 3 p.m. start time.
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Yahoo Sports reported that ticket prices could start from anywhere from $83 to $228 and still hadn't fallen below $65 on the secondary market by kickoff.
Fans with tickets in the 300 level of the stadium were encouraged to move down to the lower bowl, The Athletic reported.
While the Chelsea head coach made note of it while speaking with reporters, Chelsea defender Levi Colwill said that the team 'didn't really notice.'
'The tournament is new, but the fans are going to attract to it when you've got the best teams in the world,' he said. 'That's what we're really excited for.'
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Maresca did expect that the club's next match would likely draw a larger crowd.
On Friday in the Club World Cup, which is being streamed for free on DAZN, Chelsea will be at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and against Brazilian club Flamengo.
3 Enzo Maresca, Head Coach of Chelsea FC, reacts during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group D match between Chelsea FC and Los Angeles Football Club at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on June 16, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia.
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'No doubt that the next one will be a nice one because we know that the Brazilian team, they always bring many, many fans,' Maresca said. 'So we will try to be ready for the next one.'
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FIFA likely was happy with the crowds for matches between Inter Miami and Al Ahly in Miami Gardens at Hard Rock Stadium, which drew more than 60,000 fans, and a match between Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid at the Rose Bowl, which saw more than 80,000 supporters pack the stands in Pasadena, Calif.
Sunday's match between Palmeiras and Porto at MetLife Stadium lived up to the expectations of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who told reporters at an event in Jersey City last week that he anticipated 40,000 to 50,000 fans for the first Club World Cup match at the home of the Jets and Giants.
More than 46,000 fans – with a large contingent of Palmeiras fans making the trip to East Rutherford – were on hand, and Palmeiras head coach Abel Ferreira called the number of supporters that were there 'fantastic.'
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Concerns about attendance began to grow in the lead up to the tournament as the first match struggled to sell, forcing ticket prices to drop.
'We anticipate great attendances and electric atmospheres at its inaugural edition, with excitement growing with every round of matches and the tournament ultimately standing as the undisputed pinnacle of club world football,' FIFA had said in a statement earlier this week.