Illustration by Jason Snell
In a huge win for Queen City soccerheads, the FIFA Club World Cup comes to Cincinnati this month, two years after the city was passed over as host for the men’s 2026 World Cup—only the most widely-viewed sporting event on the globe. We missed out on the diamond ring, but we still get to throw one heck of a party.
The Club World Cup (CWC)— featuring club sides instead of national teams—is a showcase opportunity for Cincinnati. The four matches here provide an uncommon chance to welcome and impress visitors who, unless they fancy craft beer, unique chili, or Joe Burrow, otherwise would have no reason to pass through the city.
Here’s the background: In June 2022, FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, omitted Cincinnati from its list of host cities for the 2026 men’s World Cup, which is being held in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. However, FIFA in December selected TQL Stadium, FC Cincinnati’s home grounds, as one of 12 stadiums across the U.S. to host four of the 63 total CWC contests this month.
Newly expanded to 32 teams for 2025, the CWC is a month-long tournament among the world’s premier club teams.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited Cincinnati on April 11 and praised TQL Stadium as a “real jewel.” “It’s really one of the most beautiful soccer stadiums that I have seen,” he said. “Congratulations to you, to the club FC Cincinnati, to the city, to everyone who had the vision and the dream to make this a reality.”
TQL Stadium’s headline match is FC Bayern Munich vs. New Zealand’s Auckland City FC on June 15. Bayern, who hail from one of Cincinnati’s sister cities, are the most successful club in German history. Auckland are the record 13-time winners of the Oceania Football Confederation Champions League.
Three days later, Mexican side CF Pachuca, the reigning Concacaf Champions, take on FC Red Bull Salzburg, an Austrian club that regularly serves as a finishing school for Europe’s young stars. On June 21, another German power, Borussia Dortmund, play Mamelodi Sundowns FC, 17-time champions of the South African Premier League. The final match on June 25 pits Dortmund against Ulsan HD FC, winners of South Korea’s K League 1 for three years running.
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval appeared with Infantino in April, noting that the city is especially proud to welcome Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. “We are right next door to Over-the- Rhine, where German immigrants first settled and helped lay the foundation for Cincinnati and all it continues to become,” says Pureval.
Other CWC participants include Paris Saint-Germain (newly crowned Champions League winners), Real Madrid (six Champions League titles since 2014), Manchester City FC (best team in the world over the last decade), and a who’s who of South American titans. Only three Major League Soccer outfits qualified: Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF, Seattle Sounders FC, and LAFC.
Since opening in May 2021, TQL Stadium has hosted seven international matches, several of which have featured the U.S women’s national team. FIFA Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis, who skippered the Americans to women’s World Cup crowns in 2015 and 2019, endorsed TQL Stadium as a potential site for the 2031 women’s World Cup during Infantino’s visit to Cincinnati. How cool would it be for Rose Lavelle to suit up in front of her home fans?
Now, the CWC has elicited criticism from players, who say the tournament’s expansion is a symbol of an increasingly crowded playing calendar that they argue is causing overuse-induced injuries. Players have publicly pondered legal challenges and strike action, but there has been zero indication that star players won’t be suiting up in the CWC.
In sum, the CWC isn’t the grand prize. But the tournament, flawed as it may be, is still a prime opportunity to take in the world’s game played by some of its top stars.
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