The Americanisation of football is happening at the Club World Cup

The first matches of the ongoing Club World Cup in the United States have been met with curiosity and scepticism. No one really knew what to expect from this inaugural tournament, which was strongly supported by FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino. Scepticism surrounded the nature of the matches: would they be friendlies disguised as official games, or would they be as competitive as the Champions League? For now, it seems that the former is true, partly due to the intense heat during the matches, although it is reasonable to expect an increase in intensity as the tournament progresses.

On the other hand, curiosity focused on how the event would be organised. The Club World Cup is a dress rehearsal for the 2026 World Cup, and, as expected, we are witnessing the Americanisation of football. The first indication of this came with the announcement of a live performance during the half-time break, in the style of the SuperBowl. Now that the first matches have been played, however, it is clear that football is giving way to soccer.

The Baseball Collections

It all started with the outfit worn by Juventus when they departed for the United States — a collection by Adidas, the highlight of which is a baseball jersey with a button-front closure. It has a white base with black pinstripes, a V-neck and pink detailing. The back features an embroidered Juventus inscription.

This is not the only collection that Adidas has released for the Club World Cup, as the company has also created lines for Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, and will be releasing personalised collections for Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal.

The Ball

adidas also designed the official match ball for the competition, a ball that screams 'USA! USA! USA!" from every panel. The colour scheme pays tribute to the US flag, with a reinterpretation of the stars and stripes expressed through blue, red and white inserts decorating this blend of polyurethane, recycled polyester and viscose.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, adidas paid homage to the host country by incorporating colour references to its flag into the ball's design. This time, however, they went even further by dedicating the entire ball pattern to the host nation’s flag. This patriotic ball is named the FIFA Club World Cup 25 Pro Ball.

NBA-style Entrance

The biggest departure from tradition has been the way the players enter the field. Here, football takes on an NBA-style format, with the starting players of both teams being called onto the pitch one by one. However, the level of excitement pales in comparison to that experienced when the Chicago Bulls were introduced to the tune of 'Sirius' or the Detroit Pistons to 'The Final Countdown'.

At the moment, the players seem disoriented and unsure of what is happening. Even more surprising is how the two teams line up upon entering: no longer in a single horizontal line, but in two vertical lines on either side of the official Club World Cup banner. This alternative setup offers a different image, with players forced to look each other in the eye before kick-off instead of facing the stands.

The Countdown and Mic’d-up Referees

The pinnacle of Americanised football is reached at kick-off, when the teams must wait for a countdown from 10 to 0 before they can start the game. This is not a new phenomenon, we saw it at the 2022 World Cup, but in this context, it currently feels like a futile exercise. It's a clumsy attempt to hype up the audience.

In keeping with the blend of sport and entertainment, referees at the Club World Cup now wear microphones to announce their decisions to the entire stadium and viewers at home following a VAR review. Of all the innovations mentioned so far, this is probably the only one that European football could consider adopting to improve the overall experience.