According to Google, the English FA Cup is more popular in the United States than the FIFA Club World Cup. Data from Google Trends, an online tool provided by Google to measure interest based on web searches, reveals some fascinating data ahead of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup hosted across 11 cities in the United States this summer.
First, Google Trends data from the last 12 months (see below) shows that the English FA Cup has been more popular than the Club World Cup during eight of the past twelve months. The four months where web searches for the FIFA Club World Cup were more popular were July, October, November, and December, all in 2024.
Web searches for the Club World Cup increased in October after the 11 host cities were announced on September 29. In November, Inter Miami was controversially awarded a place in the competition. Certainly, December’s FIFA Club World Cup draw and the schedule being revealed drew a lot of interest. Last, but not least, it’s likely that the Club World Cup drove more web searches in July 2024 stemming from the publicity that FIFA had to find a new TV partner for the competition after Apple dropped out of the running.
Interest in the FIFA Club World Cup has almost flatlined since tickets went on sale
Second, after the draw and schedule were announced in December, interest in the FIFA Club World Cup has decreased compared to December. This is despite tickets going on sale since December 19. According to a new report last week, FIFA has slashed ticket prices for the Club World Cup after concerns about a lack of interest in the controversial tournament.
Third, Google Trends reports that the English FA Cup is more popular than the FIFA Club World Cup in all 50 states. Out of the 50 states, the two that have generated the most interest in the FIFA Club World Cup are Florida followed by Washington state. Unsurprisingly, that’s because those are the only two states where U.S.-based teams are competing in the competition after Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami qualified.
Reasons for lack of interest in FIFA Club World Cup
In theory, an expanded FIFA Club World Cup featuring 32 of the best teams around the world, competing to be crowned world champion should generate a lot of interest in the United States. However, there is very little pent-up demand for a competition like this. Fans of individual clubs are excited, but as we’ve repeatedly seen from previous Club World Cups, the interest in the competition based on TV viewership is minuscule.
Thus far, the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup feels like a glorified International Champions Cup. The vast majority of the clubs participating from Europe have played in the United States during most summers, so this is nothing new.
Certainly, interest in the Club World Cup will pick up in late spring as the tournament nears. Until then, FIFA has a lot of selling to do to convince fans to watch the competition exclusively on DAZN or to attend in person.
