Opinion piece: Is the FIFA Club World Cup a serious competition or a glorified pre-season tournament? | OneFootball

The (de)merits of the Club World Cup and the Portuguese league vs. Brazilian league debate

There has been a lot of talking around the FIFA Club World Cup. A large proportion of it is around the America vs Europe debate and, of course, Brazil vs Portugal.

The Group A match where Porto and Palmeiras faced each other produced two different conclusions: Palmeiras couldn’t win against the worst Porto side in history, so the Tugão is better than the Brasileirão; and the opinion that Palmeiras played better for 15 minutes so the “moral win” is for the Brazilians.

One thing is for sure. The quality of football that is played is very different. There is absolutely no doubt that the Primeira Liga football is infinitely times better than the Brasileirão. However, we can argue that the players in Brazil are better than the ones playing in Portugal.

Between banter and arguments, the football is left aside in this discussion. So, let’s put some sense into it.

Point number 1: the top teams

The three best teams in Brazil are, as of now, Botafogo, Palmeiras and Flamengo, all of them playing in the Club World Cup. These are teams that would do quite well in the Primeira Liga, but they would never win it. However, Benfica, Porto and Sporting would, without a shadow of a doubt, fight for the title in Brazil.

Point number 2: competitiveness

There is no point in faking it: the Primeira Liga is not competitive. There are only three clubs competing for the title. On the other hand, the Brasileirão is one of the most competitive championships in the world. Take Fluminense as an example: they won the Libertadores in 2023 and last year fought until the last round against relegation. That says a lot about the football that is practised in both countries, showing that Brazilian football decays very fast and very easily.

Point number 3: the fanbase

For me, the main issue in Portuguese football: the fact that almost no one supports their local team and chooses instead to support one of the Big Three. In Brazil they don’t necessarily support the team from their city, but at least there is a disparity of fans across the teams in Brazil. That makes the work around the fanbase and the profits around it way bigger, potentiating the football itself.

We must not forget that this is the first edition of the Club World Cup in this format. A format that benefits the South Americans who are fresher having played only the initial months of their championship, while the European teams that have played more than 50 games this season, with some players carrying almost 80 games on their legs.

In one month’s time, domestic competition returns in Portugal with the Super Cup between Benfica and Sporting. If Benfica manage to advance to the semifinals of the CWC, they won’t have any kind of vacation.

If you want Europeans to take this competition seriously, start making it fair for everyone. If you can’t find a way to make it fair, maybe it shouldn’t exist in the first place. Until then, the Brazilians will find it attractive and give it importance; and the Portuguese will think of it as a something of pre-season bash for experimentation above all else.