The Club World Cup is finally underway - and football may never be the same mint

Miami Gardens (AP) – After more than a year of uncertainty and criticism, the club’s world championship kicked off in Miami on Saturday and football may never be the same. At least that’s what FIFA president Gianni Infantino said to someone who would listen. “This tournament will be the beginning of something historical that will change our sport for good,” he said this week as part of an exhausting schedule of public commitments to raise interest in the month -long opportunity staged in 11 cities in the United States. The latest tournament of Soccer is what the sport was waiting for, says Infantino, and on Saturday, despite substantial setbacks and obstacles, he turned his personal passion project into a reality. The Swiss lawyer, who holds one of the most powerful positions in the world as head of the football’s governing body, was at a largely full Hard Rock Stadium to watch Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami 0-0 with the Egyptian team Al Ahly in the opening match of his super-sized club World Cup. The game was perhaps underscoring, but the opportunity – kicked off with a lavish opening ceremony with music, dance routines and fireworks – was a moment of tremendous pride for Infantino and a conclusive evidence of its influence on the most popular sport on the planet. Despite his allegations, it is not clear how much football really still wanted an elite tournament. But it was his baby – so much so that his name was not once, but twice, on a giant gold trophy conducted by Tiffany & Co. produced, which will be lifted by the winner on July 13. It continued with the background of legal challenges in Europe, threats of strike of players and fear of injuries and burnout for the biggest stars. There was concern about the overreaction by FIFA – which has traditionally focused on national spirits – and the adverse impact that a new club competition would have on domestic leagues. But nothing would stand in the way of Infantino’s plans to expand the club’s world championships from its previous cover as a mini tournament in the middle of the season to an extravaganza of 32 teams who could one day compete the Champions League and Premier League as one of the most popular and richest competitions in the world. The time will see if it meets the invoice of Infantino, but he has navigated the biggest obstacle of all by getting this first issue off the ground. It is locked up in the calendar-every four-year and teams such as Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain has already qualified for the next issue in 2029. “Maybe not in the first issue now, but it will become an incredibly important competition to win,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said. He may have a point. Competent, and despite the global nature of football, the club contest is largely limited to continental competition, apart from the previous cover of the Club World Cup, which often considered just as little as an exhibition. Still, it’s unclear how much of an appetite there is for another soccer tournament in a calendar that has reached the saturation point. So a crowd of over 60,000 at Hard Rock Stadium probably had a relief for Fifa, although it is not known how many of those present paid something like the $ 349 cited for seats in December. Fifa did not offer definite numbers on the amount of tickets sold for the tournament as a whole, and prices were reduced as the opening match approached. But there were only bags of empty seats on the plots, with many red-shirt fans from Al Ahly attending. “We’ve been looking forward to it for a long time,” said Peter Sadek a fan who is originally from Egypt and now lives in Orlando. ‘At least 50 more just from our environment (come). It has been bubbling up for a long time and you can see how much is here. ‘ Others all Ahly fans traveled directly from Egypt, with red shirts exceeding the pink of Miami in parts of the stadium. If Messi could only crown the big night of Infantino with a moment of magic. He certainly tried. His beautiful long -distance shelter, deep in extra time, would have been the perfect finish. Instead, Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed Elshenawy typified the ball on the crossbar to deny the Argentine big and baby that prize moment. Not even infantino can have everything, it seems. ___ ___