“Listen In With KNN” radio show and podcast is back with a brand new audio episode as award-winning host Kelsey Nicole Nelson continued the countdown to the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 with FIFA Technical Development Scheme member Ryan Nelsen and FIFA Media Director Bryan Swanson who joined the show as special guests.
Nelsen and Swanson give a behind-the-scenes look at the final touches occuring before this summer 32-team club tournament begins play here in the United States.
Nelsen, an all-time great for the New Zealand National Team and former captain of D.C. United provides listeners with the perspective of what players are going to be looking forward to on June 14 when the inaugural tournament begins in Miami with a clash between MLS Inter Miami CF and Al Ahly FC of the CAF Champions League. The FIFA Club World Cup welcomes international stars to the grand stage to prove that their club is the best in the world.
“Every region has their own[best club]. Europe thinks they’re the best, South America, and Asia. Everybody thinks they are but this is a tournament that actually proves the point. It’s also an opportunity for clubs from all different regions of the world to prove how good they are against the best,” Nelsen said
Washington D.C. is getting three exciting matchups this summer with Juventus, Al-Hilal, FC Salzburg, Wydad AC all set to make appearances. International stars are coming to the grand stage to prove that their club is the best in the world. The former soccer player Nelsen played in 200 Premier League matches and 49 international matches for New Zealand.
Nelsen also took a stint on the Georgetown University men’s soccer team coaching staff which keeps him in the heart of the growing fútbol culture in the D.C. area thus making him ecstatic to experience these matchups first-hand at Audi Field.
Washington, D.C,. and the larger DMV area is a melting pot which makes it the perfect place to host international matches. According to Nelsen, each team brings an intriguing storyline to this year’s tournament.
“You’ve got Juventus, who was arguably one of the most historic teams in the world, you know, Salzburg, who under the Red Bull kind of banner. Then you’ve got the Middle East teams who, from the last FIFA World Cup has seen increased development They’re now producing some phenomenally, really good players and very good teams. They’re going to be very, very difficult games.”
If anyone knows about the intensity of FIFA competition, it would be Nelsen as he captained his national team, the All Whites, in the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010. Leading the squad in South Africa as they remained unbeaten, including a famous 1-1 draw against the reigning champions Italy.
For the players, it’s a different level of pride being a part of this tournament. The FIFA Club World Cup offers players from various ranked teams different motivations and goals, from winning the trophy to achieving upsets.
“Everybody’s got different kind of parameters when it comes to motivation, but as a player I would give my you know, I’d give anything to play in a tournament like this, because, yeah, it’s unique, you know. And I think in America, we’re not going to see this again, we’re probably not going to have the opportunity to have this amount of quality world club teams in one place,” said Nelsen.
Club teams are hungry for not only international superiority but also a brand new Club World Cup trophy and over $1 billion in prize money. The tournament trophy that has been making its way throughout the 11 host cities here in the United States.
Host Nelson brings up one huge storyline heading into the Club World Cup as amatuer club Auckland City FC will be playing in this year’s tournament. This club is known for most of the players having full-time jobs outside of football and they have a great record playing in international cup competitions. Nelsen explains that balancing life and football is something many fans will be cheering about.
“They’re a real, real dark horse. So if you have got a second team that you kind of want to follow and all that, please follow Auckland. They’re a really great story, and they’ll put up a really good fight. Being from Down Under,” Nelsen said.
As a media director, Bryan Swanson has traveled across the 11 host cities for the FIFA Club World Cup and got a unique experience out of each U.S. city.
“Each market offers something completely different. And I think when FIFA comes to town, you want to know about it, right? You expect the best here in the United States, and you’re getting the best. You’re going to get the best club competition around the world,” Swanson said.
The Club World Cup has received amazing reception from U.S. fans and worldwide celebrities as two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup™ winner Carli Lloyd, FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014™ winner Sami Khedira, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as well as global music superstar Robbie Williams are a few notorious stars who appeared at the Club World Cup Trophy Tour launch party in Manhattan.
Swanson sees all this big-time fanfare as the benefits from the exponential growth of the game in the United States.
“Here you are now in a situation with the 32 top teams competing on your doorstep. Yes, D.C. has got three matches. The tournament itself has got 63 matches. This is America’s chance to, once again, show the world about what it means to have a top tournament, two top tournaments.”
Host Nelson asks Swanson about how FIFA is able to pull off these two major tournaments in such a short span of time. Swanson credits the hard work of the FIFA team and gives some interesting behind the scenes detail of what that work consists of.
“You know, the meetings that I’m in behind the scenes, whether it’s at the head office in Zurich or whether it’s at meetings in our Miami offices down in Coral Gables, they want to look and they go through every little detail to make sure that that experience is something special.,” Swanson said proudly.
Swanson and FIFA’s main focus for this Club World Cup is to make an everlasting experience for fans just as much as it would be for the player. The end goal creates a newfound sense of unity.
“Football unites, and these tournaments do unite, and I can see it happening in meetings from different people around the world where they’re talking about the operational aspects of this summer and next summer and we can’t wait. And it’s great to be in a country and in a part of the world where we have seen such development, particularly since 1994. You know, the landscape has changed so much, but it’s time to continue to step it up,” said Swanson, witnessing the evolution over his 20 years of experience as a sports broadcaster before joining forces with FIFA.
As we look at America, Major League Soccer is currently the fastest growing sports league in America, specifically when we’re looking at those numbers. According to Forbes, in 2023, league attendance increased by 5% compared to 2022, with total attendance reaching 10.4 million and projected to rise to 10.9 million. In 2024, season ticket sales across the league increased by 12%.
With the market shifting among the youth in the United States, Swanson details how making sure these demographics are represented is key for the international tournament success.
“We’ve got 211 countries around the world that we represent. The United States is one of those countries. It’s an important country, but it’s one of 211 so we have to do what we can to try and make sure that in every corner of the planet, people, children are growing up wanting to engage and play in soccer.”
Swanson also includes how FIFA redistributes their earnings back into the game of football to further advance the sport to new heights.
“So we talk about the prize fund for the Club World Cup, for instance, and that’s self generating. You know, we’re not keeping any profits. We don’t make profit. That’s not what we do. We redistribute it. So the more people and the more fans that turn out for our tournaments, the more the game gets and the more the club game will benefit here in the United States and beyond, and the international game will benefit for the World Cup next summer,” said Swanson.
Host Nelson segues the conversation back to the on-field product and gives Nelsen the opportunity to relive his glory days playing for D.C. United. Nelsen was drafted by DC United in 2001, where he spent four successful years, became club captain and won the MLS Cup in 2004.
Nelson adds how special it is that D.C. is being uplifted throughout this process and that fans can see football’s superstars play at the historical Audi Field. She shares how it is an experience can influence the next generation of future football stars.
“I think when I was playing in D.C., I think most youngsters would be looking to the NBA or the NFL to sign to their idols, or whatever. But now they’re actually looking at D.C., they’re looking at Benteke, and they look at, you know, soccer players as who they want to be. And that’s where the MLS is at the moment. It’s grown so well, and having these kind of international club teams on the doorstep of most big cities and communities in America,” said Nelsen
Volunteer opportunities are available for the Club World Cup, with information available on the FIFA website, encouraging fans to get involved and be part of the legendary tournament.
“We’re always looking because, you know, behind every fan experience, you know, every cheer in the stand, every game played, is another dedicated team, and that team is our volunteers. So, we want people to feel parts of this tournament shaping history,” said Swanson
More information about the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and 2026 World Cup tournament is available at www.fifa.com
To listen to the full show, check it out below.
