When the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup kicks off in the U.S. in June, it will be a blending of footballing cultures. American soccer fans will be introduced to clubs from all around the world, a development commentator Callum Williams says will be a “tremendous opportunity for the sport in this country.”
Williams, an Apple TV analyst for MLS matches, is also a world soccer commentator, who calls matches in Europe, Copa Libertadores and more. Watching the likes of Palmeiras’ and Brazil national team gems Endrick and Estevao emerge in the Brasilerao, or seeing MLS recruit South American talents such as Thiago Almada, Ezequiel Barco, Emanuel Reynoso, Alan Velasco, among others, Williams has witnessed the domestic game grow through a U.S. lens.
The common denominator, from Williams’ perspective, is growth.
“I only think it’s going to grow,” he told GOAL. “I think more and more [South American stars] are going to come over to Major League Soccer as well, because they’re seeing it as a viable option now that so many times, before this became a reality, players that were thriving in South America would end up going to play somewhere in Europe, and then they may go to France or Germany or England or Spain or something
“But now what they’re doing is they’re using Major League Soccer as a stepping stone. And some of them are actually looking around and saying, ‘Well, actually the stepping stone doesn’t necessarily need to be a step elsewhere. This is a place that I could stay for a long time and have a good career.’ And that’s simply down to the trajectory of Major League Soccer and many different aspects.”
The Club World Cup will merge the cultures of Conmebol and CONCACAF, as well the Asian Football Confederation, UEFA clubs and the Oceania Football Confederation. Williams says the tournament has flaws, but it could be the start of a special 12 months in the U.S. ahead of the 2026 FIFA world Cup, providing the domestic game an a springboard for fans from around the world.
“I think we’re only right on the cusp of something here in the U.S. and Canada,” the Englishman said. “I’m really excited to see what it looks like in five or 10 years time, for sure, particularly after the World Cup.”
Williams talked all things MLS, world soccer, Club World Cup and more in the latest edition of Mic’d Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL US taps into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
NOTE: This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.