Many players are unhappy to be competing, at least one manager has said he will not be tuning in and tickets are six times cheaper than initially advertised because fans are so unenthused.
But one thing that cannot be sniffed at in FIFA’s controversial 32-team Club World Cup is the $1bn prize pot with the winners expected to pocket about £100m - roughly the same as the winners for fewer than half of the games.
And without such riches being dangled in front of them it is fair to question whether Europe’s big guns would have committed in the first place.
“The distribution model of the FIFA Club World Cup reflects the pinnacle of club football and represents the biggest-ever prize money for a football tournament comprising a seven-match group stage and playoff format with a potential payout of $125m foreseen for the winners,” Gianni Infantino said in typical understated fashion when announcing the distribution model.
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Here is what each team is set to earn over the coming four weeks, broken into a performance pillar of $475m (£350m) and a participation pillar of $525m (£386m).
Performance pillarThe format is the same as the real World Cup - well, until that is changed next summer - with an impressive $2m prize in every group stage game with the winner taking it all and a draw split evenly.
Reaching the round of 16 will see clubs earn an additional $7.5m, quarter-finalists will get $13.125m, the four semi-finalists pocket another $21m with the beaten finalists getting $30m and the champions earning $40m alongside a trophy with Infantino's name scratched on.
Group stage $2m (£1.47m) for a win $1m (£740,000) for draw per club
Round of 16 $7.5m (£5.5m)
Quarter-final $13.125m (£9.67m)
Semi-final $21m (£15.46m)
Finalist $30m (£22.1m)
Winner $40m (£29.46m)
But even if your team has a stinker and bows out after three group stage fixtures, simply turning up will prove worthwhile.
All 32 clubs will get a base payment based on their rankings and federation with the UEFA sides on a sliding scale based upon what FIFA called “sporting and commercial criteria.”
Europe $12.81-38.19m (£9.43m-£28.12m)
South America $15.21m (£11.2m)
North, Central America & Caribbean $9.55m (£7.03m)
Asia $9.55m (£7.03m)
Africa $9.55m (£7.03m)
Oceania $3.58m (£2.64m)
FIFA also say that the CWC will see “an unprecedented solidarity investment programme” with “a target of an additional $250m being provided to club football across the ” - though exact details around how that is being distributed are unclear.
Infantino said: “This solidarity will undoubtedly provide a significant boost in our ongoing efforts in making football truly global.”
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