MIAMI — As kickoff approached it was clear — the fans weren't coming. The Club World Cup, soccer's shiny, new competition, has been billed as the event to breathe new life into the world's most popular sport.
It began a week ago in the United States, where sports stadiums of monumental capacity and steep tickets prices awaited the rowdy crowds seen at grounds across the world.
But rows and rows of empty seats inside Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday told another story.
''It's like playing football during lockdown,'' observed one fan on social media.
For days, world governing body FIFA didn't register the attendance for the game between Mamelodi Sundowns and Ulsan on its official website. It took until Friday for a figure of 3,412 to be acknowledged on the site, but by rough count, there were less than 1,000 fans in the stands as the game got underway.
At the other end of the spectrum, more than 80,000 watched Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain vs. Atletico Madrid at the massive Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
The opening week for the monthlong tournament across the U.S. has seen some wildly fluctuating attendances.
Orlando attendance is uncomfortably low