FIFA President Gianni Infantino has visited Orlando, United States, to see at first hand the two stadiums which will host matches in the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ and said that the city will go down in soccer history.

Orlando will stage six games in the tournament, to be held from 14 June to 13 July 2025, and uniquely among the 11 host cities, these will be split between two venues, the imposing Camping World Stadium and the purpose-built Inter&Co Stadium.

Visiting teams will include European heavyweights Manchester City, Juventus FC and SL Benfica, South American giants CR Flamengo, Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa, Ulsan HD from Korea Republic and Auckland City FC, the most successful team in OFC Champions League history.

Accompanied on the tour by FIFA Senior Football Advisor Youri Djorkaeff, FIFA World Cup™ winner with France in 1998, and Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis, FIFA Women’s World Cup™-winning coach with the United States in 2015 and 2019, the FIFA President met the Mayor of Orlando Buddy Dyer, the leaders of Orlando City SC and Orlando Pride and spoke to local media.

"We cannot wait for the people of Orlando to come and join the fans from all over the world in the stadiums, to fill the stadiums, to show this atmosphere of making everyone feel welcome in this beautiful, beautiful city,” said Mr Infantino. “Orlando has become really a soccer city in the last few years, both on the men's side as well as on the women's side.“

The city hosted five matches at the Camping World Stadium, then known as the Citrus Bowl, when the FIFA World Cup™ was held in the United States for the first time in 1994. It is represented in both Major League Soccer (MLS), by Orlando City SC, and the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), by Orlando Pride, who in 2024 won the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship, both for the first time. Staging matches in the inaugural tournament will again put Orlando in the history books, the FIFA President said.

"People will show the first edition because, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, they might be bigger, better, or different, but there is only one first – only one first – and you are part of this first edition, and not only are you part of this first edition, dear Mayor, dear friends, but your city is unique in this respect because you have two stadiums which will host games of this new competition," he said.

Although the Camping World Stadium has hosted exhibition matches featuring European club sides in the past, Mr Infantino stated that competitive fixtures were something else altogether. "You might have seen in this stadium already some of the European, Brazilian or South American teams playing…but they came to play friendly games, exhibition games. It is a whole different ball game if you play for real silverware, or goldwear, and for (USD) 1 billion in prize money as well,” he said.

Orlando’s young people will also benefit from support that has been identified for local social projects. “We want to leave a contribution of USD 1 million for the city to invest in social activities linked, of course, with soccer, with football,” Mr Infantino said. “We can build (some) mini pitches and have some activities for children, for girls and boys, in the areas of the city where they are most needed. Together, I’m sure we can come up with some good ideas and make sure that we leave something lasting here.”