FIFA Club World Cup: Stadiums and Host Cities

Not only will the final of the FIFA Club World Cup (July 13, 21:00 CEST) be held at the MetLife Stadium - one year later, almost to the day, the final of the 2026 World Cup will also take place in East Rutherford: On July 19, the MetLife Stadium will host the final of the biggest World Cup ever in Canada, Mexico and the USA with a total of 48 participating nations. 

The MetLife Stadium, which opened around two-and-a-half years after construction began in April 2010, is owned equally by the two American football teams: the New York Giants and New York Jets, both of whom compete in the National Football League (NFL). Depending on which team are playing a home game in the stadium, the exterior façade, which can be illuminated in different colours, shines in blue (for the Giants) or green (for the Jets).

The same aluminum façade technology was first used at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Since the Giants and the Jets, who first shared Giants Stadium (1984-2010) and now MetLife Stadium, compete in different conferences, a meeting between the two teams is rare (so far four times in 15 years at MetLife Stadium). 

With seating for 82,500 fans, the MetLife Stadium, which has been named after the insurance company MetLife since 2011, is not only the largest stadium in New Jersey, but also the largest in the NFL, with 1,135 more places than Dortmund's SIGNAL IDUNA PARK (81,365). At the Club World Cup, MetLife Stadium is the second-largest venue after the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Los Angeles (88,500). 

MetLife Stadium is part of the Meadowlands Sports Complex. In addition to the stadium, the venue also includes the Meadowlands Racetrack, a harness racing track, the Quest Diagnostics Training Center, the Giants' training facility, the American Dream, a large retail and entertainment complex and the Meadowlands Arena, which was once home to the New Jersey Devils and Brooklyn Nets but has since closed.

The MetLife Stadium has also hosted the biggest sporting event in the USA: Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, the NFL final, which the Seattle Seahawks won 43-8 against the Denver Broncos that year. Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed at the MetLife Stadium during the half-time show.

It was only the second Super Bowl to be played in an open stadium outside of California or Florida since 1977, and the second coldest in history: the temperature at the start of the game was 9 degrees celsius (4 degrees at Super Bowl VI 1972 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans).

The MetLife Stadium is not just a venue for football or soccer matches. The stadium in New Jersey has already hosted 600 major events as well as 3,000 special events - including WrestleMania 29 and 35, the 2021 Army-Navy Game and numerous concerts.

Singer Ed Sheeran played in front of over 89,000 fans at MetLife Stadium in 2023, the capacity of which can be increased outside of football games. The attendance record stands at 93,000 people, who gathered in the stadium in 2012 for the Jewish festival Siyum HaShas. The last artist to perform at MetLife Stadium before the start of the Club World Cup will be The Weeknd on June 8.

In front of the MetLife Stadium there are parking spaces for around 30,000 cars, which can reach the stadium via the New Jersey Turnpike, one of the busiest highways in the United States. From the largest US city, New York (population 8.8 million), it is also possible to travel by train or bus to tranquil East Rutherford (population 10,000). Directly in front of the stadium is the Meadowlands stop, which connects the MetLife Stadium to Manhattan via the Secaucus stop.

The most striking feature of the stadium is its roof, which resembles a camera lens. It consists of eight rotating panels and can be completely opened or closed in the space of eight minutes.

Inside the stadium is a 360-degree HD video wall known as the ‘Halo Board’. At around 335 metres long, it is the largest video wall in a stadium in the world.

The stadium is the first NFL stadium to receive LEED Platinum certification – the highest level for environmentally friendly construction. It uses solar energy, rainwater collection systems and offers charging facilities for electric cars.

In addition to sporting events, the stadium also hosts concerts, conventions and other major events. These include concerts by superstar Beyoncé, Super Bowl LIII (2019) and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The stadium can seat around 71,000 spectators for NFL games, but can be expanded to accommodate up to 75,000 for special events such as the Super Bowl. It can seat 42,500 fans for football games.

The stadium houses an extensive art collection with over 180 works by more than 50 artists, including many from Atlanta and the southern United States. The initiative was implemented in collaboration with local curators and aims to enhance the stadium's cultural value as a public space. The works range from sculptures to large-scale murals.

The stadium is located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, near Centennial Olympic Park, which was built for the 1996 Olympic Games. It is well connected to public transport, in particular by the MARTA rail line.

The US soccer club FC Cincinnati, which was founded in 2015 and has been playing in Major League Soccer since 2019, have been at home in the TQL Stadium since its official opening in 2021. Cincinnati also owns the stadium, which is used for matches involving the US men’s and women’s national teams. Incidentally, SIGNAL IDUNA PARK has been the home of BVB since 1974.

The first official match at TQL Stadium took place on May 16, 2021: FC Cincinnati faced Inter Miami. The club from Florida, on whose training ground BVB will train during the Club World Cup, won the match 3-2. 

The TQL in the name of the TQL Stadium stands for the sponsor “Total Quality Logistics”, the logistics company founded in Cincinnati in 1997. The stadium has officially borne this name since 2021; during the planning and construction phase, the home of FC Cincinnati was also called “FC Cincinnati Stadium” or “West End Stadium”, as the stadium is located in the district of the same name.

The TQL Stadium has room for 26,000 fans at football matches and is therefore much smaller than the largest stadium in Cincinnati, the Paycor Stadium, where the Cincinnati Bengals American football team plays in front of 65,515 spectators. By comparison, the south stand at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK holds almost 25,000 spectators at BVB home matches, while the Dortmund stadium can hold a total of 81,365 fans. 

In 2022, the TQL Stadium was awarded the title of "Best Venue of 2022" at the World Football Summit. A jury of experts awarded the title to FC Cincinnati's stadium based on the criteria fan experience, technological advances, match day operations, personal support, catering and fan experience. UNESCO also awarded the stadium the Prix Versailles, the world prize for architecture and design, in the sports category. 

The TQL Stadium is not only the venue for football matches - concerts are also regularly held in Cincinnati's West End district. The first music event was the most famous: in May 2022, the English rock band “The Who” played at the TQL Stadium.

Ex-BVB player Christian Pulisic has already scored twice at the TQL Stadium: In the US national team’s friendly against New Zealand in September 2024 (final score 1-1), and before that, Pulisic scored the first goal of the game in a World Cup qualifier against Mexico in November 2021 (final score 2-0).