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DC’s Audi Field to host 3 FIFA Club World Cup games

By Dan Ronan

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D.C.’s Audi Field has been selected as one of the venues to host the 2025 inaugural FIFA Club World Cup in two months.

Standing on a stage at Audi Field, WTOP Senior Sports Director Emeritus Dave Johnson, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, D.C. United’s President of Business Operations Danita Johnson and FIFA Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis, unveiled the enormous FIFA Club World Cup 2025 trophy. Dave Johnson is also the longtime play-by-play voice of D.C. United.

The trophy will be awarded this summer to one of 32 international club soccer teams competing for the championship.

Audi Field will host three matches in June.

On June 18, Abu Dhabi-based Al Ain FC will play Turin, Italy’s Juventus. On June 22, Wals-Siezenheim, Austria-based FC Salzburg will compete against Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal and on June 26, Morocco’s Wydad AC will play a match against Abu Dhabi’s Al Ain FC.

“This is our chance to highlight D.C. and showcase to the world the vibrant, diverse, soccer-loving city we know that we are,” Johnson said. “Hosting the FIFA 2025 Club World Cup is a tremendous milestone for our club and our city.”

In all, 63 matches will be held, with the same format as next year’s World Cup, which will be held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Infantino said the tournament will bring together the most successful club teams from the last four years to crown a champion.

At the event, Infantino once again announced FIFA is contributing $1 million to each of the cities that will host matches during the tournament.

In addition to D.C., Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia and Seattle will host games.

FIFA said the money will be available to each city to help fund community-based social projects.

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup 2025 is considered by soccer enthusiasts to be a strong opening act by top international club teams, leading up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, which will be held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico from June 11 through July 19. It is the first time in FIFA history the competition will be held in three nations.

On the East Coast, matches will be held in Atlanta, Boston, Miami, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Toronto.

DC United’s groundskeeper brings ‘the turf world’ to Audi Field

By José Umaña
On a hot summer day in D.C., Blaise Restifo casually strolled around Audi Field, the region's premier soccer stadium, looking at its grass pitch before starting to set up the goal nets. As he worked together with his field team, Restifo picked up multiple TurfPods, which helps track the soil’s temperature and moisture, and turned on the sprinklers. Moments later, players from the U.S. women’s national soccer team started warming up for an afternoon training. While they ran sprints, Restifo monitors how the field responds to the wear and tear from their cleats.
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