The inaugural 32-team Club World Cup will be held in the USA in 2025, the FIFA Council confirmed on Friday.
The competition will extend from seven to include the past four Champions League and Copa Libertadores champions, as well as representatives including the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer and the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League winners.
FIFA claims that by awarding the competition to the US, it would be able to “maximize synergies with the delivery of the FIFA World Cup 2026,” which will also be held in Canada and Mexico.
The Club World Cup will serve a same function in this iteration as the Confederations Cup, an international competition that World Cup hosts host 12 months before the actual competition.
BREAKING: FIFA announce the first-ever 32-team Club World Cup in 2025 will be held in the United States 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/dlvK6DMbF0
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 23, 2023
FIFA did not reveal the locations of the tournament’s matches, whose inclusion on the international schedule has generated controversy.
Gianni Infantino has frequently stated that his goal for the Club World Cup is to elevate a competition that is frequently viewed as a poor relation of UEFA’s Champions League.
Furthermore, it will also help FIFA, which gets a large portion of its funding from the men’s World Cup held every four years, by bringing in more broadcast revenue.
Infantino said: “The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be the pinnacle of elite professional men’s club football, and with the required infrastructure in place together with a massive local interest, the United States is the ideal host to kick off this new, global tournament.
“With some of the world’s top clubs already qualified, fans from every continent will be bringing their passion and energy to the United States in two years’ time for this significant milestone in our mission to make football truly global.”
The 32-Team Club World Cup Structure
Among those teams who have already qualified are Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City. European clubs will be afforded a further nine spots, one of which will go to the winners of the 2024 Champions League.
Meanwhile, the two South American representatives so far confirmed for the tournament are Palmeiras and Flamengo.
As hosts the USA will be given an additional spot at the tournament.
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Infantino’s plans have come under frequent criticism with FIFPRO, the union that represents players, warning the additional fixture load “could have serious consequences for and aggravate pressure on the welfare and employment of players”.
No structure has been announced but the logical shape of a 32 team tournament would be eight groups of four teams, feeding into a round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and a final in the same format as utilised at the last World Cup.
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