The inaugural 32-team Club World Cup concluded Sunday with valuable takeaways for FIFA, as the U.S.-hosted tournament, won by Chelsea, served as a dress rehearsal for the expanded 2026 World Cup.
Next year’s global showpiece will feature a record 48 teams and 104 matches across the United States, Canada and Mexico – a significant jump from the 64-match format used at Qatar 2022.
To prepare fans and organizers alike, FIFA expanded this year’s Club World Cup to 32 teams – more than quadrupling its traditional size – to mirror the scale and structure of what’s to come.
“It’s a dry run for FIFA,” said Alan Rothenberg, the former president of U.S. Football who oversaw the World Cup the last time it was held in the U.S., in 1994.
“There were some mistakes early on and some issues early on, but presumably they have now learned their lesson on how to stage a tournament in multiple cities in this vast country of ours. So I think it’s going to make it a lot smoother from here on out for ’26 because they now have experience.”
Organizers faced criticism from players, fans, and coaches for a range of issues – from pitch conditions to scheduling to heat, with some games played to packed stands and others to sparse crowds, baking in temperatures of 29 degrees Celsius (85 degrees Fahrenheit) and higher.
Global players’ union FIFPRO said the heat, in particular, should “serve as a wake-up call,” with organizers pressured to schedule matches earlier in the day to accommodate the extraordinary scale of the tournament.
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez described the temperatures as “very dangerous” to play in.
“Every criticism that we receive is a source for us to study, to analyze, to see what we can do better,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino told reporters ahead of the final.
“Of course, the heat is definitely an issue. It’s an issue all over the world.”
Infantino said the tournament in 2026 would use stadiums with roofs and climate control to accommodate more daytime games. Of the 16 World Cup stadiums, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Vancouver have roofs.
“We need to look at what we can do better. We introduced cooling breaks. It’s obviously very important we water the pitch. We can see how we can do things better in America, as well as in Canada for next year, in Vancouver,” Infantino said.
FIFA is taking greater operational control over the 2026 tournament compared to previous editions, said Rothenberg, who is now chairman of Premier Partnerships, a division of Playfly Sports.
“I don’t think they did (the Club World Cup) as an experiment, but it turns out to be a great experience for FIFA going forward,” said Rothenberg, whose forthcoming book, The Big Bounce, explores football’s popularity in the U.S.
Global football’s governing body has put boots on the ground in the U.S. in preparation for the World Cup, setting up field offices in Miami and at New York’s Trump Tower.
U.S. President Donald Trump was on hand to deliver the trophy at MetLife Stadium on Sunday to Chelsea, after the Premier League side defeated Paris Saint-Germain 3–0 in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
From January until the end of next year’s tournament, FIFA will maintain a 45,000-square-meter (485,000-square-foot) broadcast center in Dallas.
A smaller version was used in the parking lot at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for the Club World Cup.
“This is not a test run – we’re going to have a lot of learnings from ’25, but this is a historic event for us,” said Oscar Sanchez, head of host broadcast production.
“It’s massive – but 2026 is humongous.”
MetLife Stadium, which hosted Sunday’s final, is set to host the 2026 World Cup’s showpiece, with ongoing research to optimize pitch conditions in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Despite efforts – including transporting Bermuda grass overnight in refrigerated trucks – Club World Cup venues received criticism from coaches and players for pitch quality.
“We’ll report post-tournament and take lessons forward to 2026,” said Blair Christensen, pitch venue manager. “These guys here that work on the pitch with me – they are far sharper and better than they were 35 days ago, and we’ll take that forward to next year as well.”
