The videos keep rolling across your social feeds: Boca Juniors fans on the beach in Miami, while Palmeiras fans light up Times Square. You'll hear it in the stands and see it in the scenes, too: River Plate fans belting out songs in Seattle and Flamengo supporters roaring during the individual player introductions.
The FIFA Club World Cup may be a global tournament, but in the United States, it feels unmistakably South American.
All six CONMEBOL clubs -- the above quartet, plus Fluminense and Botafogo -- avoided defeat in their opening matches (three wins and three draws), but the South American fan bases have also been the most boisterous, showed up in the biggest numbers, and deservingly drawing all the attention.
It shouldn't be a huge surprise. Many of their UEFA counterparts shrug with apathy at the shiny new expanded tournament, noting its lack of history. Teams from other regions look happy to be there, intrigued by the massive prize pots and eager to find international legitimacy. But in South America, this tournament provides an opportunity to recapture some of the past glories.
Fans know the dates by heart. You see them on banners, hear them in chants, and read them in club publications.
Palmeiras in 1951 were crowned Copa Rio champions after beating Nice, Red Star Belgrade, and Juventus. It was the first intercontinental club tournament featuring teams from Europe and South America. In 1981, Flamengo dominated Liverpool 3-0 in the Intercontinental Cup, a match featuring the champions of the Copa Libertadores and UEFA Champions League. River Plate did the same in 1986, overcoming Romania's Steaua București.
"In 1950, Brazil lost the World Cup to Uruguay, and it was a huge blow. 1951 brought that back up and was celebrated not just by Palmeiras but also supporters of other teams," said Paulo Roberto, the leader of the U.S. chapter of Palmeiras supporters' group Mancha Verde, to ESPN. "Up to today, it's something we value because it's history, and you cannot erase history."
Those international trophies are huge sources of pride for the teams in South America who have them. Similarly, participation in the tournament now known as the FIFA Intercontinental Cup occurs, where the most recent champion of each confederation competes in a tournament. This year, Real Madrid topped Concacaf's Pachuca 3-0 in the final.
"This tournament brings together the elite of global football, and it's an honor to once again see the name of River among the leading figures," River Plate Secretary Stefano Di Carlo said. "It will be our third time participating in the Club World Cup in the last 10 years, which reaffirms our status as top representative in the region."
While the entire sextet of CONMEBOL teams would love to make history by once again winning -- and testing their rivals' openness to celebrating a title -- the likelihood is that the champion will come from UEFA, as it has in the last 11 times the tournament was conducted in its previous format.
The economic realities of the current ecosystem mean South American clubs often are parting ways with their talent early, transferring off top academy players to keep funding the club and watching as they go on to stardom for big European clubs.
"Players who used to play in our team are now playing in Liverpool, Manchester United, etc.," said Juan Pablo Pacheco, the leader of River Plate Texas. "We see them with the bright lights of playing in Europe, but kind of forget what it's like playing in South America. We're eager to play those teams and show that we still have it, even though our best players immigrate to Europe."
But the games don't always go according to script. Benfica's Argentine duo -- Ángel Di María and Nicolás Otamendi -- ended Boca's hopes of a win early with a pair of goals in a 2-2 draw in Miami. Di María, who scored from the penalty spot, clarified after the match that his hand gesture wasn't an apology to Boca fans, but a simple greeting to his family.
And family is a thread that runs through all of this, another reason the tournament matters so much to South American fans.
"It's very special, especially for me. I'm going with three generations, with my dad, who is a big Flamengo supporter, and also my oldest son. It's three generations of being Flamengo," said Renato Silva, a Flamengo fan who used to live in the U.S., but once again lives in Rio de Janeiro and is traveling for the tournament. "For us, it's very important. These are always part of conversations in society. I think it's much more important for us than European teams."
All those factors are important, but there's something else about the Club World Cup that shouldn't be underrated by those working to understand why these six clubs seem to care so much more than some of their fellow CWC hopefuls.
There are many South American fans living and working in the U.S. who still keep up with their team, perhaps track it even more closely for that feeling of home when they're far away. Seeing the team in your city? Having old friends come visit to go see matches in gleaming stadiums? It's a party.
"It means a lot for us who have been abroad for a long time," said Mariano Bossana, the president of the Boca Juniors Consulate in Washington, D.C. "It's not only a pleasure and an opportunity to see Boca Juniors playing nearby, but also a source of pride to compete with some of the most respected teams around the world. It brings Boca back to the international stage."
Of course, for the clubs, the tournament presents not just the chance for supporters to have a good time or for the team to seek on-field revenge. Being on the big international stage also is a huge opportunity to put their brand in front of fans all over the world, and crucially to do so in the U.S., where nearly every team -- Asian, European, African -- has put together activities to connect with existing fans and try to win over new ones. But South American clubs have stood out in both scale and passion.
That's partly because, traditionally, many have done little compared to their European counterparts to try to reach new markets. Botafogo has a space near Venice Beach called Venice House, where it hosts events, and supporters can drop by to hang out and meet fellow fans.
A Botafogo House em Venice Beach já é sucesso dentro e fora de campo! 🌴⚽
— Botafogo F.R. (@Botafogo) June 18, 2025
Em parceria com a Secretaria de Turismo do Rio de Janeiro e a TurisRio, estamos promovendo os atrativos turísticos do nosso estado em plena Copa do Mundo de Clubes da FIFA.
Turismo e futebol juntos,... pic.twitter.com/DzUYiFtqHC
"Botafogo House will be a special place to honor everything we've built here," CEO Thairo Arruda said in a statement. "We want to share our essence and show everyone what it is to be Botafogo."
In addition to on-site activations, clubs are also trying to reach new supporters online. River launched their English-language social media channels under the River Plate Global umbrella just before heading to the U.S. for the tournament, which opened with a 3-1 win over Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday.
It's a key part of that club's strategy to continue converting new fans, as the club works through many of the financial issues that clubs in South America must deal with, ones that European teams backed by billionaires or private equity may not need to be concerned about.
"River's internationalization couldn't just be a goal, it had to be the result of an integral growth. Since 2013, the club has gone through a deep transformation. We've tripled our annual income, going from $50 million to more than $180 million," Di Carlo said. "The path is to keep making River grow in all dimensions, so that participating in the Club World Cup isn't an arrival point but rather another step in a sustained project to consolidate River among the great clubs of the world."
It's possible that these six CONMEBOL teams, already among the powers in the region, could use the prize money earned, the increased exposure and the experience on the field to even further accelerate their growth. Other clubs, surely, are fighting for the Libertadores for the eternal glory of being the tournament champion, but the potential trip to a Club World Cup and the cash influx it provides is a bonus of not insignificant amounts.
It's a motivation that will push many more South American teams forward. Although, as the fans of the teams qualified for the first expanded edition have shown, their team simply being here is more than enough for them to express their excitement and take over the tournament.