Has this Club World Cup format been a success?

Chelsea have reached the final of the Club World Cup

One of the most divisive football competitions created comes to an end on Sunday with the Club World Cup final between Paris St-Germain and Chelsea.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino said on the eve of the final "we can say definitely that this Fifa Club World Cup has been a huge, huge, huge success".

Previously an annual winter tournament for the six continental champions plus one host club, it now takes the format of the World Cup, although that too is being expanded from 2026 onwards.

Thirty-two teams - some from every continent - will have played 63 games, including the final, in the US over a month.

Critics have called it an Infantino vanity project and former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp referred to it as the "worst idea ever implemented in football".

Issues have included sparse crowds for some group games, extreme weather and player fatigue - and what the knock-on effects could be.

"It's been a big success. I've been everywhere and it's been a brilliant tournament to work on and to watch here," Michael Brown, who has been covering the games for broadcasters Dazn, told BBC Sport.

BBC Sport looks at what the interest levels have been like and whether the tournament in this format can be considered a success or not.

You can have your say throughout.

The crowds

Much has been made of some of the low attendances.

Four matches failed to get 10,000 fans, with the lowest the 3,412 who watched Mamelodi Sundowns beat Ulsan HD 1-0.

But there have been 15 crowds of 60,000 or more, with the highest the 80,619 who saw PSG beat Atletico Madrid 4-0 in Pasadena.

Most of the highest attendances were at games involving PSG or Real Madrid, and the majority of knockout games have been well attended.

The average attendance of 38,369 is below that of any World Cup since Chile 1962.

Reasons given for some low attendances were the kick-off times (many were in the middle of a weekday), ticket prices, weather and concerns about Immigration and Customs Enforcement raiding games.

"The decisive question is 'do the fans like it or not'?" said former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, Fifa's chief of global football development.

"We believe the attendances were projected as low and in reality were much higher. The answer is there."

A dynamic pricing structure, which is common in US sports, is being used, where the cost of tickets can change regularly.

Ticket prices for Chelsea's semi-final against Fluminense reportedly dropped from almost £350 to less than £10 in the week before the game.

Tickets for the Blues' quarter-final against Palmeiras ended up at £8, with fans talking about having paid more than £250 when they first went on sale.

"From the fans point of view, it's been positive," said ex-Premier League midfielder Brown, who has worked on 10 games involving 12 clubs.

"Everyone I've spoken to thinks it has been an incredible tournament and they have had a wonderful time.

"It feels like it's raised the awareness of football in so many countries. The other countries have absolutely loved it and really got behind their clubs."

Did teams want to win it?

The answer to this question is yes - helped to a large extent by the huge prize fund available.

Teams could win up to £91m for winning the tournament, with Manchester City pocketing £38m despite going out in the last 16.

Chelsea have probably earned about £80m for reaching the final, with Joao Pedro repaying over a third of his transfer fee with two semi-final goals against Fluminense.

The winners will be allowed to wear a badge on their kit saying they are world champions until the summer of 2029, when the next tournament is played.

Players of Brazilian clubs celebrated wins and broke down with defeats every bit as much as any major cup.

As the tournament went on, European teams were determined to win it too.

"We had a lot of ambition for this Club World Cup and we wanted to win it," said City captain Bernardo Silva after losing to Al-Hilal.

Asked if it hurt as much as Champions League elimination, he said: "Yes, a little bit."

Wenger said: "If you make enquiries to all the clubs who were here, then 100% of answers would be that they would want to do it again.

"That's the best answer of what the clubs think of a Club World Cup."

The football

Purely in football terms, the tournament could be considered a success.

The group stages were a slow burner, with mismatched games like Bayern Munich 10-0 Auckland City.

There have been plenty of dramatic games and surprising scorelines - and an average of more than three goals per game.

Manchester City were knocked out 4-3 in extra time by Al-Hilal. Benfica took Chelsea to extra time thanks to a 95th-minute penalty - after a two-hour weather delay - before the Blues won 4-1.

Chelsea scored a late winner in the quarter-final against Palmeiras, with Estevao Willian, who joins them after the competition, netting against his soon-to-be team-mates.

Lionel Messi scored a free-kick, amateur side Auckland City picked up a point against Boca Juniors, having lost their first two games by a total of 16-0, and there have been games with scorelines of 4-4, 4-3, 4-2 and 5-2.

PSG, who have been sensational at times, beat Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Inter Miami 4-0.

PSG beat Bayern 2-0 despite having nine men - and there were three stoppage-time goals and a red card as Real beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2.

"We saw a few games at the start of the tournament which were a bit of a mismatch, but after that all the games have been competitive," said Brown.

"The mixture of cultures has been amazing. We've seen some different styles of play but a lot of quality everywhere.

"The Brazilian teams in particular contributed to that in a massive way. They set the standard in matches, put pressure on European teams and made them respond.

"What we do have to understand is that the European teams had not hit their stride when the tournament started because they'd had a bit of a rest first [after the end of their domestic seasons]."

Have fans been interested worldwide?

The tournament - inevitably considering the lack of history or prestige - has not grabbed the attention of all football fans.

For example, the BBC Sport live pages and reports for the knockout rounds have had between 40% and 50% of the audience they would normally get for the Champions League equivalent.

But those are still big figures compared to many lesser followed competitions and sports.

Every match has been available to watch for free in the UK, with all 63 games on the Dazn app and Channel 5 showing 23.

Dazn has not replied to requests for the viewing figures, but Channel 5 said it was happy with how many people have watched the games it broadcast.

Chelsea v Los Angeles FC was watched by a peak of 1.6 million people in the UK. Real's game against Al-Hilal was seen by a peak of 1.1 million.

In Saudi Arabia more than 1.5 million people watched their win over Manchester City in the last 16 despite kicking off at 4am local time.

"There was not a single place that didn't have the Al-Hilal game on, and everyone was off the streets and watching it," content creator Fayad told BBC Sport, speaking about the quarter-final loss to Fluminense.

"The freeway was so empty. On a Friday night that never happens, not even during Ramadan."

Brazilians have arguably bought into the Club World Cup more than fans from any other nation. All four of their teams reached the knockout stages.

The Copacabana fan-fest hosted about 100,000 fans across the tournament.

Fatigue and injuries

We will not know for several months yet how much of an impact this could have.

Many players involved have not had any break yet, with last season leading straight into international fixtures, which led straight into the Club World Cup.

Most teams start their 2025-26 campaign about a month after the Club World Cup ends, with the need to have a break and fit their pre-season into those four weeks.

"I try not to think about it, otherwise I will be so anxious," Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said recently.

"Maybe in November, December, January, ask me. I may say 'So listen, we are a disaster. We are exhausted. The World Cup destroyed us.'

Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Maheta Molango told BBC Sport: "It's this feeling of accumulation of competitions that just do not talk to each other and create a calendar that is just nonsensical.

"Let's see what happens in October, November - that's when you're going to start seeing because you pay the price. This Club World Cup gives us a chance to start looking at the bigger picture."

For Bayern, the competition posed a more immediate problem.

Midfielder Jamal Musiala faces a long time out after suffering a broken leg and dislocated ankle after being caught by Gianluigi Donnarumma during the defeat by PSG.

The innovations

The tournament had a few quirks that might be alien to traditional football fans.

The man of the match was instead called the superior player of the match.

The 22 starting players were called out one by one on the loudspeaker, instead of all running out together.

American sports announcer Michael Buffer called the players out for the semi-finals.

There were loud countdowns to kick-off and music played during cooling breaks.

Video assistant referee (VAR) decisions have been shown in the stadium and a 'ref cam' has shown footage from referees' bodycams during the game.

The final will have a Super Bowl-style half-time show with acts selected by Coldplay singer Chris Martin, although there was a Linkin Park concert before this year's Champions League final.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan