The “pride” of being at the historic Club World Cup

CLUB WORLD CUP

Participating in 1^st edition of the Club World Cup, to be held in the United States from June 15 to July 13, 2035, Benfica will be present at a historic moment in football. 

On matchday 1, the Eagles face Boca Juniors on June 16 at 6 pm (local time) at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. This is followed by a clash with New Zealand's Auckland City on June 20 at 12 pm local time at the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando on matchday 2.

 Closing out Group C in round 3, the Red and Whites will face the Germans of Bayern Munich on June 24 at 3 pm local time at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

For President Rui Costa, it is a source of “pride” that the club is among the best.

"Benfica is extremely proud to be present at the first Club World Cup. We've fought to achieve this goal, we're going to be present at what is the historic first Club World Cup, and I think it's worthy for a club the size of Benfica and worthy for a country like Portugal," he mentioned.

Coach Bruno Lage was also expectant. "Having the opportunity, as Benfica coach, to play against the best teams in the world is a really interesting challenge and I think it's going to be very good for the club, for me as coach and for the players. I think it's going to be a unique experience," he pointed out, considering that the trophy is "fantastic, very beautiful".

For António Silva, a central defender made in Benfica Campus, being at the Club World Cup is “special”. “It's a competition we really want to enjoy. Being the first one, I think it also has a special flavor. But there's still a long way to go before we start the competition, but we definitely want to enjoy it a lot,” said the Portuguese international.

Nuno Gomes, a former forward from the Eagles, recalled that “many Benfica fans live abroad”. “Wherever Benfica go and play, the stadium is full of Benfica fans. And, of course, in the United States there will be many Portuguese Benfica fans,” he said.

Nuno Gomes also analyzed the rivals: “Three different confederations. That's why this new competition is spectacular. We know Bayern Munich, we've played against them many times, but of course Boca Juniors are a great team, very popular here in Portugal.”

Benfica is one of 32 competitors representing each of the six international confederations - AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), Concacaf (North, Central America and the Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania) and UEFA (Europe).

The eagles were also the first of the FIFA Club World Cup participants to receive the trophy created from scratch for the tournament, which was also present in the Presidential Box at the Estádio da Luz on January 17, during the match against Famalicão (4-0), on matchday 18 of the Liga Betclic. Benfiquistas didn't miss the chance to see the trophy, on display in the Benfica Official Store.

The tickets are on sale since December 30, 2024, until February 24, 2025.