Arsene Wenger refutes Klopp’s criticism of FIFA Club World Cup, calls it a ‘fantastic competition’

Arsene Wenger has rejected Jurgen Klopp’s criticism on FIFAs renewed 32-team Club World Cup, called the tournament a ‘fantastic competition’ and emphasized the support it received from participating teams, players and managers.

Klopp, the former manager of Liverpool, described the extensive summer competition as «the worst idea ever invented» in an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt two weeks ago. Wenger, now the FIFAs Chief of Global Football Development, went against these comments on Thursday during a FIFA Technical Study Group (TSG) briefing in New York.

«Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I don’t share Jurgen Klopp’s position at all,» Wenger told reporters. «I feel that a Club World Cup, a real club world cup, was needed. If you inquire today with all the clubs that were here at this competition, I am sure that we (will) have 100 percent of the answers from people who want to do this again. That is the best answer.»

Also read: Klopp criticizes the extensive World Cup format from Club, says it’s the worst idea of ​​football

Wenger also pointed to the unexpectedly high presence figures as proof of the success of the competition. «The decisive question is, does the fans like it? The presence projections were low, but in reality they were much higher. The answer is there,» he added.

The tournament has provided FIFA a test area for the World Cup 2026, which will take place in North America. Wenger acknowledged that the summer heat in the United States resulted in challenges, but said that FIFA has learned valuable lessons to tackle these problems.

«The heat in some games was a problem,» Wenger admitted. «We tried to fight that with cooling breaks and the pitches to water during the breaks. We learned a lot on that front.»

He excluded Orlando as one of the locations where pitching conditions turned out to be difficult, although he praised the quality of natural lawn in general. The surface of Philadelphia, he said, would serve as a benchmark for future competitions in the US

Looking ahead, Wenger said that FIFA is considering using covered stadiums in cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles and Houston to organize early competitions in next year’s tournaments. He also revealed that FIFA analysts studied the impact of heat on player performance, and discovered that temperature above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) influence the rapid running and sprints more than the general distances.

Also read: Bad weather still slows down a match in the FIFA Club World Cup, Chelsea Manager left Fuming

«Certainly, next year there will be more roof stadiums because we have to follow the TV schedule. We learn to be better equipped to tackle these conditions,» Wenger said.

The inaugural 32-team Club World Cup ends on Sunday, with Paris St Germain taking on Chelsea in the final at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey.