Chelsea plays in front of 50,000 empty seats – What caused the failure of the Club World Cup’s popularity?

2025년 6월, 첼시가 미국 애틀랜타의 메르세데스-벤츠 스타디움에서 LAFC와의 FIFA 클럽 월드컵 첫 경기를 치렀지만, 71,000석 중 단 22,137석만이 채워져 50,000석 이상이 비어 있는 상황이 발생했습니다. 이러한 관중 감소의 원인으로는 경기 시간, 높은 티켓 가격, 그리고 낮은 대회 인지도 등이 지적되고 있습니다. 특히, 많은 현지 팬들이 이 대회에 대한 정보 부족으로 인해 참석하지 못했던 것으로 보입니다. 이제 구체적인 방법을 아래에서 확인해보도록 하겠습니다.

In June 2025, Chelsea played their first match of the FIFA Club World Cup against LAFC at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, USA, but only 22,137 out of 71,000 seats were filled, leaving over 50,000 seats empty. Chelsea’s coach Enzo Maresca commented, “The atmosphere was a bit strange. It was almost an empty stadium.”

Why Was It So Empty? Key Cause Analysis

Weekday Afternoon Match Time: The match was held at a vague time of 3 PM on a local Monday, making it difficult for workers and students to attend. This was scheduled to fit the UK TV prime time, reducing accessibility for local fans.

High Ticket Prices: The cheapest seats were around £37 (approximately 65,000 won), and even during the match, prices dropped to £26 (about 48,000 won), but fans still reacted that it was “expensive.” A ‘Buy 1, Get 4 Free’ promotion for some students was also implemented, but it had minimal effect.

 

Low Tournament Recognition and Lack of Marketing: The Club World Cup has low recognition in the US, and it was pointed out that FIFA organized it directly without a local organizing committee, leading to insufficient marketing. Many local fans responded, “I don’t even know what kind of tournament this is.”

Team Fan Base and Regional Limitations: LAFC was not the originally participating team, and the distance of over 3,200 km from Atlanta made it difficult to attract away fans.

Competing Schedule and Extreme Heat: The schedule was squeezed into the European football off-season, the sweltering heat of the southern US (32 degrees Celsius), and the already packed football schedule negatively impacted attendance.

Local and Expert Reactions and FIFA’s Challenges

BBC and local media pointed out, “FIFA pushed the tournament without proper marketing.”

LAFC’s coach stated, “The attendance issue will be judged after the tournament,” mentioning that there are differences in popularity by region.

While some popular matches were close to full, most group stage matches had leftover tickets, and emergency measures like student discounts continued.

FIFA claims, “1.5 million tickets were sold in 130 countries,” but the actual atmosphere on-site was lukewarm.

Conclusion: Is the US Ready for the World Cup?

The Club World Cup served as a rehearsal for the 2026 World Cup, but the failure to attract an audience and operational issues serve as a warning to FIFA. The interplay of various factors such as match timing, ticket prices, regionality, and marketing shows that for the US to truly establish itself as a ‘World Cup nation,’ fan-friendly operations and localization strategies are essential.