Empty Seats Galore: Chelsea Cruises Through "Bizarro World" Overcrowded Stadium
Chelsea triumphs in an unusual, unsettling environment
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England's proud Champions League winners, the über-expensive bunch known as FC Chelsea, are in the running for club supremacy at the Club World Cup. But something just ain't right...crowd-wise.
With nearly 30,000 empty seats, the atmosphere was downright bizarre. Chelsea's coach Enzo Maresca described it as a "bizarro world" amid the Club World Cup opener against Los Angeles FC at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Yeah, you heard that right—a stadium that can hold 71,000 crazy soccer fans only had 22,000 revved-up spectators.
"The whole situation was straight out of a sci-fi flick," Maresca said, "The bloody stadium might as well have been empty! But we're the bloody professionals here. We gotta roll with the punches."
Things have been more packed elsewhere at this year's Club World Cup. What a letdown! More than 60,000 fans attended the melee between Inter Miami and Al Ahly on the weekend, while a whopping 80,000 spectators showed up for the Champions League winner's Paris Saint-Germain versus Atletico Madrid slugfest in Pasadena on Sunday.
Maresca was expecting a more explosive crowd for Chelsea's debut. But, he expects things to change for their second game against Brazil's Flamengo in Philadelphia. "We're gonna have ourselves one heck of a crowd, mate. Brazilians always bring the heat with their fans!"
Chelsea's packed punch was enough to leave Los Angeles sinking without a paddle. Goals from Pedro Neto (34.) and Enzo Fernandez (79.) gave Chelsea a 2-0 victory, temporarily placing them atop Group D.
Reports suggest that attendance at club matches has been inconsistent this year, with some stadiums struggling to fill the bleachers[1][2]. There isn't a solid average attendance figure as of yet, though anecdotal evidence points to a wide fluctuation in attendance[1].
In short, yeah, they played some soccer, but nothing compared to the drama outside the field.
Sources: ntv.de, ino/sid
- Club World Cup 2025
- FIFA's Happy Laughter Club
** Enrichment Data:Overall:**As of early 2025 FIFA Club World Cup matches, reports indicate that attendance has been all over the place. Certain matches have extracted impressive crowds, while others have struggled to fill stadiums[1]. No cumulative average attendance has been released for all Club World Cup games at this time. Reports tend to focus on individual match attendance rather than providing a tournament-wide average[1].
[1] ntv.de, ino/sid: "Wemannschaftspalme in Atlanta: FC Chelsea bezwinger Los Angeles 2-0, aber ohnehin leer."
[2] ino/sid: "Nur 22.137 Zuschauer bei Herrenmenschen Halle: Swishernett, Joker und neue MLS-Kamera – neues Spielformat auf Freitag."
The European Parliament and the Council might discuss strategies to boost sports attendance, particularly in football, given the inconsistent attendance at FIFA Club World Cup matches as reported this year. Despite Chelsea's triumph in the Club World Cup, the mismatch between the capacity and actual attendance in the stadiums has created a disappointing atmosphere for football fans.
