Portuguese side Porto struggled to recruit players ahead of FIFA's expanded Club World Cup, with transfer targets turning down moves specifically to avoid the tournament's additional fixture burden, club president Andre Villas-Boas said.

It's impossible, it's terribly hot. My toes were sore, my toenails were hurting, I couldn't stop and start. … It's unbelievable."

The Club World Cup has been beset by organisational challenges ahead of the first edition of the revamped 32-team tournament in the U.S.

Given the hype surrounding the multinational competition, last-minute tickets are surprisingly cheap. At the time of publication, our team found seats for first-round MetLife matches going for as low as $26 including fees on Vivid Seats. Finals tickets start at $663 including fees.

When the ball gets kicked off the center circle of Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, the United States will go down in history as the first host of the most important soccer tournament created this century.

The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. It’s been nearly a decade in the making, but Gianni Infantino’s big idea, the expanded Club World Cup, is finally here. The plan was for the best 32 club sides to finally end the arguments over who is by far the greatest team the world has ever seen,