Just five matches into the revamped Club World Cup, supporters have already noticed a pattern: every game has kicked off several minutes later than scheduled. This summer’s tournament, featuring top clubs from around the globe and offering significantly increased prize money, was designed to boost the competition's prestige. However, it's already facing a fair share of criticism.
One major issue is the absence of the reigning champions from England, Spain, and Italy - a surprising omission for a tournament claiming to showcase the world’s best. On Sunday evening, viewers instead witnessed a lopsided 10–0 thrashing as Bayern Munich dismantled semi-professional New Zealand side Auckland City, whose goalkeeper had to take a mix of annual and unpaid leave just to participate.
Another point of contention has been the perceived "Americanisation" of the event. With the tournament hosted across the United States, European fans have voiced frustration over changes such as renaming the traditional “Man of the Match” award to “Superior Player of the Match.” The persistent late kick-offs have also been attributed to overly elaborate pre-game presentations and scheduling practices - seen by some as further signs of American-style showmanship creeping into the sport.
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In Europe, teams typically emerge from the tunnel together, with the full team line-ups read quickly over the stadium tannoy. However, one unique feature of this year’s Club World Cup is that each player is introduced individually, receiving their own special ovation.
This spectacle was on full display during the tournament’s curtain-raiser at the Hard Rock Stadium, where Lionel Messi’s entrance drew a particularly rapturous reception on Friday. Watch below:
This over-the-top pre-match ritual wasn’t reserved for Messi alone. It also happened to every other player during his side's match against Al-Ahly, while ahead of Atletico Madrid’s 4-0 defeat to Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend, all 22 players were made to wait in the tunnel at California’s Rose Bowl Stadium, only allowed to walk out one by one as their names were individually announced. See below:
In American culture, sport is as much about the spectacle surrounding the event as it is about the action on the field. Take the Super Bowl, for example - the commercials are so prominent that viewers often rate and rank them, while the extended 30-minute halftime break allows for a full-scale entertainment show.
Whether these elements are unique to this year’s tournament due to its USA location remains to be seen. Future editions held in other countries or continents may take a different approach, reflecting the cultural norms of their host nations rather than adopting this distinctly American style. And in this case, it might be a welcome peculiarity going forward.
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