Fifa are set to announce staging agreements with eight stadiums for the Club World Cup in the strongest indication yet that the controversial new tournament will take place as planned next summer.
The Guardian has learned that Pasadena, Seattle, Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, Philadelphia and two stadiums in New Jersey have been selected as hosts by Fifa, who are in the final stages of completing contract negotiations with the venues.
Fifa have been beset by rumors that the 32-team Club World Cup may have to be postponed, as they have yet to confirm any venues, sponsorship deals, prize money or the sale of TV rights nine months before it is due to start.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti caused a diplomatic storm in June by saying that the Champions League holders would “refuse the invitation” due to the lack of financial rewards, while the Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has claimed that players could boycott the tournament due to concerns over burnout.
Confirmation of the venues will represent a major step forward for Fifa, who are understood to be hopeful that some of them will be announced next week. The process has been complicated by Fifa’s decision to select a range of different stadium sizes, as the 32 teams who have qualified for the first Club World Cup will attract significantly different fanbases. European heavyweights such as Real Madrid and Manchester City will attract huge crowds other qualifiers like ES Tunis and Al Hilal may be prove less popular.
As a result Fifa have selected a combination of NFL and MLS stadiums, with New Jersey set to be given two venues in the shape of the 87,157-seat MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford and 25,000-seat Red Bull Arena in nearby Harrison. In a surprise move given Concacaf Gold Cup is due to take place in a similar area at the same time, there are set to be two venues on the west coast: the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and Lumen Field in Seattle.
Fifa are also in advanced talks with Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium and Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium as potential venues for the competition well as the smaller Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, the home of MLS club Orlando City SC. At least one more stadium beyond that could make the final list.
Fifa have yet to decide which stadium will stage the final, and could run a formal tender process between the host cities. The world governing body’s next major challenge is to sell TV rights to the tournament after a proposed global streaming deal with Apple TV collapsed earlier this year.
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A formal tender process for TV rights the 2025 and 2029 Club World Cups was launched in July, but Fifa have yet to receive any bids matching their valuation. Fifa president Gianni Infantino and ECA chairman Nasser al-Khelaifi held a video conference with media executives earlier today in an attempt to drum up more interest.
Fifa declined to comment.