The "Club World Cup is a great tournament. The common voice of clubs is that they want to participate again."
Arsène Wenger, the global football development chief of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), directly refuted the assertion made by Jürgen Klopp, who has strongly criticized the Club World Cup.
The British 'BBC' reported on the 11th (Korea time) that "former Liverpool manager Klopp harshly criticized the Club World Cup as 'the worst idea ever,' to which Wenger responded, saying it is a tournament 'supported by teams, players, and coaches alike.'"
The Club World Cup will undergo significant changes, expanding to 32 teams and being held in the summer starting in 2025. Klopp criticized the tournament in June due to the burden of the summer schedule and excessive number of matches, calling it 'the worst idea.'
Regarding this, Wenger said, "I’ll give a boring answer to an interesting question. Anyone can express an opinion, but I completely disagree with Klopp's view."
He continued, "The Club World Cup is absolutely necessary. If you ask all the clubs that participated in this tournament, 100% will say they want to participate again. This is the strongest evidence of how clubs think about this tournament."
He also asked, "Do fans enjoy this tournament? That is the crucial question," adding, "The number of spectators was much higher than initially expected. This itself is the answer."
Ahead of the 2026 North America World Cup, FIFA is also paying attention to adapting to the local summer climate in the U.S. Wenger said, "Heat was an issue in some matches, but we responded with cooling breaks and water spraying during halftime. We learned a lot in the process."
He specifically pointed out, "There were two locations where problems occurred, one of which was Orlando," while adding, "We should not underestimate the quality of natural grass locally. Although U.S. grass is rougher and more durable than in other countries, everyone was satisfied once water was sprayed."
The 2026 World Cup is set to be held across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with many matches taking place in hot U.S. regions. Regarding this, Wenger explained, "There will be more roofed stadiums in next year's tournament. Broadcast times will also be adjusted more sensitively to the climate."
He also stated, "I asked analysts to assess how high-temperature match environments affect players. As a result, heat above 35 degrees Celsius impacted high-speed running (sprints) and affected speed and explosiveness more than overall distance. Preparation tailored to this is necessary."
Meanwhile, the final of this tournament will be held on the morning of the 14th at 4 a.m. at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, U.S. The teams competing will be Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.
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