Club World Cup marks 'new era' for football: Infantino
FIFA President Gianni Infantino says the Club World Cup will usher in a "new era" for football (Anna Moneymaker)
FIFA president Gianni Infantino says the Club World Cup, which kicks off on Saturday, marks a historic "new era" for the game, comparing it to the first World Cup held in 1930.
In an interview with AFP, Infantino also took aim at critics of FIFA's ticketing policy and said that skeptics who had questioned the need for the tournament would quickly change their minds.
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The 32-team competition, with clubs from all continents, gets under way with Inter Miami facing Egyptian club Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium.
"It starts a new era of football, a new era of club football. A little bit like when, in 1930, the first World Cup, right, started," Infantino told AFP.
"Everyone today speaks about the very first World Cup. That's why it's also, this World Cup here is historic."
The first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930 and Infantino noted that only European and South American teams took part, adding that the Club World Cup would give a chance to clubs from outside of football's traditional heartlands to play on the global stage.
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"We want to be inclusive. We want to give opportunities to clubs from all over the world," he said.
"It's really to globalise football, to make it truly, truly global. Because when you scratch the surface, we say it's the number one sport in the world, and it is but then the elite is very concentrated in very few clubs, in very few countries," he said.
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ICE at soccer games? Some fans fear possible presence as Club World Cup, Gold Cup begin amid protests
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But fears intensified over the past several days after ICE agents raided some Los Angeles workplaces, sparking protests. Around the same time, CBP — which is generally responsible for law enforcement at the U.S. border — posted on social media that it 'will be suited and booted ready to provide security for the first round of [Club World Cup] games.' ICE — which is primarily responsible for identifying and arresting violators of U.S. immigration law — soon confirmed that it, too, would be part of the security operation, and reminded non-citizens, via NBC News, to carry proof of legal status. The news spooked some fans who planned to attend Saturday's opener between Inter Miami and Egypt's Al Ahly, and who've followed reports of ICE detaining immigrants, both those who are in the U.S. illegally and legally. 'It creates an environment where people are less likely to come watch the games because of just sheer intimidation,' Thomas Kennedy of the Florida Immigrant Coalition said. Advertisement In recent days — reportedly after FIFA, the Club World Cup's organizer, expressed concerns about the public reaction to CBP's post — the post was deleted; and both agencies attempted to clarify that their presence at major sporting events is not uncommon. Their roles, though, are typically peripheral and rarely publicized. And, under Trump, their legitimacy is being questioned. 'How can we trust it's really for security?' Rafael asked. 'It just really feels like they're setting up a trap.' On Saturday, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, hosts the opener of the 2025 Club World Cup between Inter Miami and Egypt's Al Ahly. (REUTERS/Hannah Mckay) (REUTERS / Reuters) Neither ICE nor CBP has said what, exactly, its role will be at either the Club World Cup or the Gold Cup, a regional tournament featuring national soccer teams from throughout North and Central America. 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Advertisement In recent days — reportedly after FIFA, the Club World Cup's organizer, expressed concerns about the public reaction to CBP's post — the post was deleted; and both agencies attempted to clarify that their presence at major sporting events is not uncommon. Their roles, though, are typically peripheral and rarely publicized. And, under Trump, their legitimacy is being questioned. 'How can we trust it's really for security?' Rafael asked. 'It just really feels like they're setting up a trap.' On Saturday, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, hosts the opener of the 2025 Club World Cup between Inter Miami and Egypt's Al Ahly. (REUTERS/Hannah Mckay) (REUTERS / Reuters) Neither ICE nor CBP has said what, exactly, its role will be at either the Club World Cup or the Gold Cup, a regional tournament featuring national soccer teams from throughout North and Central America. 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And he added: 'There are some very real dangers in doing that, given the emerging perception of the illegitimacy of those federal agencies — particularly, for example, [if] they're policing some of the [clubs who] attract large crowds of migrant populations from communities that are already seeing themselves as under attack from those law enforcement agencies.' Rafael, the fan from Southern California, said: 'With everything that's going on, you wouldn't be fully trusting of a federal agent at this time.' He also said that, although he's a green card holder and in the U.S. legally, he worried about 'racial bias' and a lack of due process if he were to be confronted by agents. Advertisement In Miami, when asked about concerns that ICE agents would be at Saturday's Club World Cup opener looking for people who are in the U.S. illegally, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he didn't 'have any concerns about anything, in the sense that we are very attentive on any security question.' CONCACAF, which runs the Gold Cup, has not addressed the fears, but did release a statement earlier this week saying that it 'remains in close and ongoing communication with local authorities, host venues, and the participating national teams regarding the evolving situation in Greater Los Angeles.' The two tournaments could also be disrupted by the protests, which began late last week in Los Angeles. Trump, despite pleas to the contrary from local politicians, sent thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quash the dissent. The protests have since spread, throughout the city and nationwide. This weekend, they are expected to mesh with previously planned demonstrations against the Trump administration and its military parade in Washington, D.C., on the president's birthday. Advertisement The unrest and the administration's crackdowns are clouding FIFA's launch of the Club World Cup, and its hopes for the 2026 World Cup, both of which have been sold as 'inclusive' and 'welcoming' events. That's what Rafael hoped this summer's tournament would be when he bought tickets months ago. That's what last summer's Copa América was, he noted. 'I never thought I'd have to worry,' he said, 'about being racially discriminated against at a soccer game.'
