NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Geodis Park is the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States and this summer it will get a global stage as it hosts group stage matches in FIFA’s inaugural Club World Cup.
FIFA President Gianni Ingantino toured the three-year-old stadium and its grounds Tuesday with Nashville S.C. CEO Ian Ayre and other team and city officials. They then unveiled the Club World Cup trophy that will be awarded to the winner of the event featuring 32 of the best clubs in the world.
“It’s exciting,” Ayre said. “When we conceptualized the team and the stadium (with the idea that) you build a world-class stadium, you want to host world-class games, and this is the pinnacle. This is the world championship. I remember taking a cab from BNA airport on my first arrival here, and the guy asked me – he heard my accent – and said, ‘What are you doing here?’ I said, ‘I’m here to build a soccer team,’ and he just laughed, you know? And here we are with one of the greatest stadiums in the country. It’s hugely proud for all of us to see that we’ve been kind of singled out as one of very few venues for this tournament.”
Nashville is one of 11 cities chosen to host Club World Cup matches this summer. The city already has a worldwide reputation as a destination, particularly for its music and party scene. But increasingly, it has become a destination city for big sports events.
Over the last dozen years, the city has hosted events like the NFL Draft, Stanley Cup Final, NHL All-Star game, IndyCar’s Music City Grand Prix, and the NCAA Women’s Final Four, along with yearly events like the Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium and the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena.
The city has increasingly become a destination for major soccer events as well. Nashville S.C. joined MLS in 2020 and opened Geodis Park in May of 2022. The city has played host to numerous Gold Cup and international friendlies for the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National teams, drawing big crowds at various venues.
Now, Music City will have a chance to show its soccer side to a global audience.
“Nashville is a city known all over the world for the music, but for soccer also,” Infantino said. “And this is something I wasn’t really aware of, I have to say, before. Then I came here and I viewed the stadium – the biggest soccer stadium in the United States of America. It really has everything that fans want. With these teams from five different continents coming to play in Nashville, they will bring a lot of fans, and these fans will enjoy Nashville.”
Geodis Park will host three matches during the Club World Cup group stage. The action will begin on June 20 as Club Leon of Mexico takes on Esperance Sportive de Tunisie at 5 p.m. On June 24, the stadium will host the famed Argentina side C.A. Boca Juniors as they face Auckland City F.C. at 2 p.m. The action in Nashville will conclude on June 26 as Saudi power Al Hilal meets C.F. Pachuca at 8 p.m.
“(The Club World Cup) brings the 32 best teams in the world to the United States of America, including Nashville,” Infantino said. “The best players in the world are coming to play, and it’s a competition that will determine for the first time in history which club team is the best in the world.”
There is a long-term benefit to serving as a host city. FIFA announced Tuesday that it will make a $1 million donation to Nashville for youth soccer programs in an effort to boost the area's roots soccer scene.
The money will help further the mission of Nashville S.C., which has built pitches and started soccer programs throughout the area since the club launched.
“We can start to make soccer more accessible to other parts of the community,” Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said. “I used to represent the area of Napier and Sudekum, and it was just so exciting the day that the team installed a pitch at Napier Elementary (School), which is now fielding a soccer team. If we can create more experiences like that around the city, great!”
This summer may also serve as a trial run for an even bigger FIFA event down the road. The U.S. has emerged as a strong favorite to host the Women’s World Cup in 2031.
Both Infantino and Ayre hinted at Nashville’s strong candidacy during Tuesday’s media availability. Ayre suggested the city could put in a multiple-venue bid with the 30,000-seat Geodis Park able to host group stage matches while the new Nissan Stadium could be in the running to host knockout round matches with a capacity of 60,000.
“With 48 teams, you think about the number of games that will go on in the group stages and then the knockout phase,” Ayre said. “There’s different sizes of demand and draw on those games, and I think both venues here could be potentially possible. When they came for the Club World Cup this year, when they see how the city lights up for these events, they want more than just soccer games. They want fans to come, they want them to enjoy themselves (and) nobody does it better than Nashville.”
