SportsNews
Poor weather, low tickets, shock defeats – An overview of the ongoing 2025 Club World Cup
There was little or no buzz ahead of the 2025 Club World Cup.
FIFA tried their best to generate excitement among football lovers but did not achieve much.
They included Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami under a special ‘host nation’ spot for the regular-season winners of MLS.
FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, even commented that Al Nassr superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo “might play in the Club World Cup” and increased the winner’s prize money by a whopping $35m.
But there are other factors that make any tournament successful.
One of them is the weather.
Players have had to battle through difficult conditions for some matches, as kick-offs are scheduled at noon and 3pm local time on scorching hot summer days.
For the Paris Saint-Germain vs Atletico Madrid group match at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the temperature was recorded at 31 degrees Celsius shortly after kick-off at midday local time.
PSG manager, Luis Enrique, claimed afterwards that the heat “had an impact on the game.”
The fans have not been thronging to the stadium to watch either.
Messi-mania brought them in for the opening fixture against Al Ahly, and PSG thrashed Atletico Madrid in front of 80,000 fans in Los Angeles a day later.
But Monday’s Chelsea vs LAFC encounter at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta was played out in front of 22,137 spectators – less than one-third of the stadium’s 75,000 seat capacity.
On the same day, a Group C match between Flamengo and Esperance attracted 25,797 fans to Philadelphia’s 69,000-seat Lincoln Financial Field, representing a 37.4% attendance rate.
After one week of the Club World Cup, how has it gone?
“My opinion of it before the tournament started, was that it was unnecessary and just an extra set of games adding to the already awful schedule,” Clinton McDubus, a top football analyst and podcaster, tells Ekwutosblog.
“Now, while I still think the schedule is crazy, my opinion on the tournament itself has changed.
“The idea makes some sense, but there has to be a way to do it better.
“Of course, it’s the first edition. So it will grow with time. I like the idea of it now, especially for the non-European teams.”
McDubus also shared some suggestions as to how FIFA could make the competition better.
He said: “Where it’s hosted, to begin with. So far, America seems to be a poor choice.
“The incessant weather stoppages, the attendance issues (some due to timing of games, and also due to how difficult it is to even get a visa to the USA right now).
“Also, the ‘Superior Player of the Match’ decisions being publicly voted has led to integrity issues.”
According to McDubus, the quality of football has been generally okay.
“I think the quality has been generally very good, apart from some obvious exceptions like the Bayern/Auckland game,” he said.
“The South American and African teams have shown a lot of quality, especially.
“Many expected this to be a walk in the park for the European teams but we’ve seen a bunch of them fail to win so far,” he added.
We have gotten the chance to see every of the 32 teams at the tournament.
Some of the early favourites have not set America alight.
Real Madrid, for instance, played out a 1-1 draw with a competent Al-Hilal side. UEFA Champions League finalists Inter Milan, were also held to a 1-1 draw by Monterrey.
In their second group fixtures, PSG and Chelsea have suffered shock defeats to Palmeiras and Flamengo..
But for McDubus, his favourites to win from what he has seen so far, is PSG – the current champions of Europe.
“I think PSG look unstoppable right now. They should be regarded as favourites.
“Then Manchester City, Bayern and Real Madrid,” he added.
SportsNews
EPL: Fulham must move on from defeat to Manchester City — Iwobi
Alex Iwobi says Fulham must stay positive despite their 5-4 defeat to Manchester City at Craven Cottage on Tuesday.
Marco Silva’s side put up a spirited display in the encounter, and were unlucky not to get at least one point.
Iwobi started the fight back by scoring the second goal for Fulham early in the second half.
The versatile midfielder’s compatriot, Samuel Chukwueze then rose from the bench to score two more goals for the Cottagers.
Manchester City, however, held on to go home with maximum points.
Iwobi stated that they deserved more from the game.
“I feel disappointed because we didn’t get anything out of the fighting spirit that we showed, but I think we have to take the positivity from the game,” Iwobi told the club’s official website.
Fulham will be away to Crystal Palace in their next Premier League game on Sunday.
SportsNews
EPL: Guardiola names team that impresses him everyday
Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola has named the Premier League club that has impressed him so much this season.
The Spaniard said that Enzo Maresca’s side have really impressed him with the improvement they make everyday.
Speaking after Manchester City beat Fulham 5-4 in the Premier League on Tuesday night, Guardiola pointed out that a team must remain consistent to win the title.
Pep Guardiola’s side closed the gap at the top of the Premier League to just two points behind Arsenal with the victory over Fulham, but the Gunners could maintain their five points lead with a win over Brentford on Wednesday night.
“Chelsea impresses me more and more every day with Enzo [Maresca], but it’s long,” he told reporters after the win.
“Premier League is so long, many things will happen. We won six Premier Leagues, four or five when we in December, January or February we were behind.
“The team who wins the Premier League is the team who grows during the months and this is what we try to do. No injuries, it’s so long.
“But at the same time, if we push, we will be better and push ourselves and control the situations better, the emotions and we will see what happens.”
SportsNews
Outrage As ‘Biological Male’ Wins World’s Strongest Woman Event in Texas (Photos)
The 2025 World’s Strongest Woman final has sparked outrage after an alleged transgender athlete won gold.
American Jammie Booker, who is accused of being a biological male, beat Great Britain’s Andrea Thompson to victory at the event in Arlington, Texas.
According to Mail Online, Thompson walked off the podium, appearing to say ‘this is bulls***,’ while Booker celebrated. The Brit has since been crowned the ‘true World’s Strongest Woman’ by her coach and some of her peers.

Rebecca Roberts, a three-time winner of World’s Strongest Woman, has sensationally claimed that no one – not even the organizers – knew about Booker’s background.
Details on the American are not clear, but the publication sighted a YouTube video – uploaded to what appears to be Booker’s YouTube channel in September 2017, with Booker saying: ‘Everyone is dying to tell their own story and I am obviously no exception to that.
‘I’m 21-year-old trans woman with a history of abuse, struggling to stay true to herself while under the rule of her religious parents.’
On Monday night, Roberts posted a picture on Instagram that read ‘Protect Women’s Sports.’ She wrote alongside the picture: ‘I hold no hate toward transgender people. Everyone deserves dignity, respect, and the freedom to live their truth.

But I cannot stay silent about something that threatens the fairness and future of women’s strength sports. Transgender women, people born male, should not be competing in the women’s category.
This isn’t about identity. It isn’t about politics. It’s about the undeniable physical differences that exist in strength-based sports… differences that don’t disappear, and that matter more here than almost anywhere else. Women’s categories were created for a reason, and if we lose that, we lose the foundation of our sport.
‘What happened this weekend wasn’t transparent. None of us knew. Not even the organisers knew. And when fairness is taken by surprise, trust in the sport begins to crack.
‘My message is simple. Trans people belong in sport, but women’s divisions must remain biologically born female-only.
‘I love this sport. I have given my life to it. And I won’t ignore something that could quietly change it forever. Congratulations to @andreathompson_strongwoman… the true World’s Strongest Woman 2025’
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