Club World Cup teams finalizing base camps, other logistics before event’s June start
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup kicks off in less than three months in the United States and representatives from all 32 teams met with FIFA officials at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables on Wednesday for a workshop centered on event logistics.
They covered everything from transportation to security, team movements, accommodations, training sites, VIP arrangements and marketing.
Hard Rock Stadium will host six group stage matches and two Round of 16 games.
In addition to hosting Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in the opening game on June 14 against Egyptian club Al Ahly, Hard Rock will host matches involving high-profile clubs Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Al Hilal, Boca Juniors and Palmeiras.
Similar to the World Cup, which is a year away and features national teams, teams in the Club World Cup establish a home base camp for the duration of the tournament and travel to and from the game venues.
Finding the right home away from home is complicated, as some of the bigger clubs travel with more than 100 staff between the players, coaches, trainers, doctors, and front-office personnel. The fields must be pristine and the training grounds must have tight security.
Inter Miami, one of two MLS teams in the tournament along with the Seattle Sounders, has it easy, as it will stay home at its Fort Lauderdale training facility.
Bayern Munich will be based in Orlando and train at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
“It’s not only a good place for connecting with fans, but also from a sporting perspective,” said Bayern Munich media officer Holger Quest. “ESPN Worldwide is an amazing facility.”
Manchester City is in negotiations with Lynn University in Boca Raton to be its base camp and Paris Saint-Germain is looking at UC-Irvine, according to a report in The Athletic. Brazilian club Flamengo will train at Stockton University in Galloway Township, New Jersey.
Auckland City FC of New Zealand, the only amateur club in the tournament and a true Cinderella story, will be based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The players all have 40-hour-a-week jobs and one of the missions of the club is to build a facility with an all-purpose field.
“For us, it’s an adventure,” said Auckland’s general manager Gordon Watson. “We’re normal people doing a very extraordinary thing at an event that’s going to be epic. We had a Zoom call with the mayor’s office in Chattanooga just a couple of days ago and it went really well.”
Watson feels the New Zealand club will resonate with middle America.
“We’re the underdog of underdogs of underdogs,” he said. “We’ve got players on our team who are real estate agents, they sell soft drinks, we have school teachers, all these types of vocations. They make a lot of sacrifices to play three games a week for months on end.”
Other teams have not yet announced their plans for base camps.
“Some teams prefer to be in an urban setting, to have leisure activities, some want to be on the beach, some choose to be in the middle of nowhere so the team has no distractions, and they can prepare in total isolation,” said Heimo Schirgi, chief operating officer for the World Cup and the Club World Cup.
“The U.S. gives us so many options, be in an MLS training site, university campuses, etc.. Some teams already have everything planned and secured. Others are still looking because they’re not so well versed in the market. It’s a work in progress. But the facilities are ready. It’s plug and play at the end of the day with all the facilities we have in the USA. There’s no concern in terms of infrastructure.”
Ticket sales have been picking up as the tournament gets closer, Schirgi said. Clubs have been focused on their national leagues, so they are just starting to promote the summer tournament.
“We’re expecting a big uptick in ticket sales, we’re launching a big promotional campaign, as well, with our media partners,” Schirgi said. “Some of the huge teams such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, they already have fan clubs in the U.S., so once their full marketing power kicks in, as well as the massive social media followings of the players, that will help promote the Club World Cup.”
Tickets are available through fifa.com, Ticketmaster.com and the secondary ticket market.
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 6:05 PM.