When Chelsea lifted the trophy at the inaugural 32-team FIFA Club World Cup 2025 in the United States, the football world took notice. But beyond the silverware, there’s a far bigger question to ask: who were the real winners of the tournament?
On the surface, Chelsea crowned their chaotic era of chopping managers and reshuffling players with a dominant 3-0 win over PSG. Yet beneath that triumph lies a layered business narrative, one involving revenue boosts, media rights, geopolitical influence, and a glimpse into football’s commercial future. Below are some key actors who truly tapped into the Club World Cup and came out as victors.
Chelsea and its Business Model
At first glance, Chelsea’s success might seem improbable. After all, they qualified through winning the less prestigious UEFA Conference League while PSG came in as Champions League victors. Yet what this win validates is Chelsea’s aggressive ownership model under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. A revolving door of players and managers has drawn criticism, but lifting this new global trophy offers commercial redemption.
Beyond bragging rights, Chelsea also walked away with $115 million in prize money, a figure dwarfing what some clubs earn in a whole season. For investors, this is ROI in action: a messy football project transformed into a headline-making statement.
South American and African Clubs
While European clubs predictably dominated the latter stages, teams from Brazil and Africa also secured historic paydays. Fluminense, Palmeiras, Botafogo and Flamengo finished in the top 13 by earnings, with Fluminense raking in €61 million.
For many of these clubs, this financial windfall represents a substantial cashflow that could potentially revolutionize their grassroots football programmes, improve facilities, and expand youth academies. The Club World Cup gave them a platform and a payout, the two things often missing in global football equity conversations.
DAZN and the Era of Digital Broadcasting in Football
One of the tournament’s least-discussed winners is DAZN, the streaming platform that paid a staggering $1 billion to secure exclusive rights. This bold investment has sparked chatter across media circles. Why did a platform largely backed by Saudi money take such a risk?
Well, DAZN didn’t just get a tournament. It got exclusive global visibility during a time when fans are rapidly shifting to direct-to-consumer sports streaming. DAZN is now positioning itself as the Netflix of sport and the Club World Cup is its pilot season.
The optics improved when Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund acquired a 10% stake in DAZN shortly before being announced as the host of the 2034 World Cup. You can call it coincidence or a soft-power diplomacy, either way, football is being reshaped by those who hold the purse strings.
The United States of America
Hosting the Club World Cup 2025 was far greater than stadiums and logistics for the U.S. This was strategic cultural conditioning ahead of the 2026 World Cup. With terms like “Soccer” still mocked globally and “Superior Player of the Match” sounding comically forced, American football culture is clearly in flux.
Yet commercially, they’re excelling. The U.S. is the world’s largest advertising market, home to some of the richest broadcast companies and sponsors. This Club World Cup added $3.36 billion in projected social benefits and created over 100,000 jobs.
FIFA even relocated key departments from Switzerland to Miami in 2023, reflecting a shift toward U.S.-based football operations. The message is clear: the U.S. is becoming football’s new commercial command center.
FIFA’s Legacy Play: Social Impact and Global Equity
Say what you want about FIFA, but the governing body is playing a long-term game. One dollar from every ticket sold goes to the Global Citizen Education Fund, with a goal to raise $100 million for children’s education. Plus, each host city receives $1 million for local legacy projects, including football infrastructure.
The framing of football as a force for good isn’t only noble, it’s also smart business. In an era where brands demand corporate social responsibility, FIFA is positioning itself as not just a sporting body but a humanitarian one.
Club Executives Are silent, and That’s Telling
Where were the loud complaints from club presidents about overworked players or calendar congestion? Largely absent. That silence speaks volumes. The $475 million participation pool plus the $525 million prize pool meant even early exits were lucrative. Clubs that usually struggle to break even during pre-season just made a profit while playing in front of global audiences.
Club executives appear to have embraced this new calendar entry. Without needing to defend or protest it publicly, they showed their approval with their presence and enthusiasm. For them, this tournament offered global marketing opportunities, boosted player exposure, and created a commercial environment that was both lucrative and risk-free.
This shift indicates a turning point: club executives are realizing that off-season tournaments might just become football’s most bankable properties.
The Club World Cup 2025- Football’s Commercial Test Lab
The FIFA Club World Cup provided an opportunity to test run innovations and initiatives like the integration of half-time shows, referee body cams, digital substitution tablets, and semi-automated offside technologyy, the Club World Cup can be likened to a research and developement lab for the future football.
These tools aren’t just gimmicks; they represent a shift toward data-driven sport governance, which enhances commercial value, sponsorship activation, and fan engagement. Football isn’t just evolving on the pitch, it’s transforming into an integrated, tech-savvy business enterprise.
Who Really Won?
While Chelsea hoisted the trophy and earned bragging rights, the real winners of the 2025 Club World Cup are those who used the platform to accelerate their business models. For FIFA, DAZN, non-European clubs, and the U.S. itself, this wasn’t just a football tournament—it was a proof of concept.
