The expanded Club World Cup is off to a promising start, thanks largely to packed stadiums, Lionel Messi fever, and a genuine festival vibe in Miami. FIFA can breathe a sigh of relief after early worries about empty seats and lukewarm global interest.

The world football governing body made a controversial decision to give Messi’s Inter Miami a special entry into the tournament, but it’s looking like a smart move. Having soccer’s biggest superstar there was crucial, especially after he helped elevate the sport to new levels in America – a country that’s historically been pretty indifferent to what the rest of the world calls football.

The numbers speak for themselves: around 61,000 fans packed Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday to watch the Argentine legend and his teammates battle Egyptian powerhouse Al-Ahly to a scoreless tie. Sunday brought another strong turnout for Paris Saint-Germain’s commanding 4-0 victory over Atletico Madrid.

But then there was Bayern Munich’s absolutely brutal 10-0 destruction of semi-professional Auckland City, which really highlighted a troubling reality – there’s a massive quality gap between some of these clubs.

Still, the opening weekend largely gave FIFA what it was hoping for: energetic crowds and teams from around the globe.

South American Passion Takes Over Miami

You could really feel the South American presence throughout the weekend. More than 1,000 Boca Juniors supporters, decked out in their signature blue and gold, basically turned Miami Beach into one giant party zone on Sunday before their opening match. They were singing team songs, waving flags, and creating scenes that felt straight out of a World Cup celebration.

“Wherever you go, Boca is here,” Gaston San Paul, who made the trip from Entre Rios in Argentina, told Reuters. He explained that this kind of “Banderazo” – essentially a flag party where fans stake their claim before a big game – is just what they do wherever they travel.

According to FIFA, tickets for Boca Juniors and Real Madrid matches were flying off the shelves early on. The biggest markets after the United States turned out to be Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico – no surprises there.

The fears about empty stadiums seem to have been put to rest, at least for now; this is especially noteworthy given the recent federal immigration raids in Miami, which had created some anxiety in the area’s large immigrant community.

The Messi Effect in Full Force

At the center of all this excitement was Messi himself, his presence has completely transformed Inter Miami’s profile and guaranteed that this tournament would have global star power. While he couldn’t find the back of the net against Al-Ahly despite getting a standing ovation before kickoff, he still showed flashes of the brilliance that makes him special in what turned out to be a tight, physical battle.

A Billion-DollarDeal

FIFA isn’t just betting on Messi’s star power – they’ve also rolled the dice on a completely new way of broadcasting. The entire tournament is being streamed free worldwide through DAZN in a massive billion deal.

This agreement came together after Saudi Arabia’s SURJ Sports Investment (part of the country’s Public Investment Fund) bought a minority stake in DAZN for a reported billion; It’s yet another example of how Saudi money is increasingly flowing into sports worldwide.

This partnership represents one of the biggest broadcast deals in football history and is central to FIFA’s strategy of maximizing digital viewership while positioning the Club World Cup as a must-watch global event leading up to the 2026 World Cup in North America.

The tournament’s billion prize pool, with 5 million going to the winners, was clearly a major draw for European clubs to participate.

“There’s a lot of money at stake. If you have the chance to earn a lot of money at a tournament, you should take the chance,” former Bayern Munich legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said beforehand.

DAZN hasn’t released any viewership numbers yet, so it’s still unclear how the streaming experiment is performing.

The Quality Question

While the crowds gave FIFA plenty of reasons to celebrate, that Bayern Munich vs. Auckland City massacre in Cincinnati raised some uncomfortable questions about competitive balance. When one team wins 10-0, it’s hard to call it much of a contest.

Despite that lopsided result, organizers are maintaining an optimistic tone and calling the opening weekend a major success.

Interestingly, many locals in Florida seemed completely unaware that a major global soccer tournament was happening in their backyard.

“There is a World Cup? Hockey?” one restaurant worker in Miami Beach asked when approached about the event.

FIFA is positioning this as something completely new: “This tournament is new, and it is different. It is the very first time clubs and players from all over the world have had the chance to face each other in competitive matches on a global stage.” They’re emphasizing how this 32-club format is a major expansion from previous editions that only featured seven teams.

With group stage matches continuing throughout the week and Boca Juniors set to face Benfica in what should be another packed Miami crowd on Monday, FIFA is hoping to build on this early momentum. The key will be avoiding more one-sided blowouts like the one in Cincinnati, especially as it becomes increasingly clear that European teams might just be operating on a different level than clubs from other continents.