FIFA have announced than an expanded 32-team FIFA Club World Cup will be played in the USA in 2025.
The tournament will see 12 teams from Europe, six from South America, four from each of the CONCACAF (North and Central America), CAF (Africa) and AFC (Asia) regions and one team from OFC (Oceania), as well as one team to be selected from the USA to compete.
FIFA will scrap the current FIFA Club World Cup format after the 2023 edition in Saudi Arabia and this new format for the Club World Cup will see it played once every four years.
However, there will still be an annual FIFA tournament as world soccer’s governing body says that will “bring together the winners of each confederation’s premier club competition and will conclude with a final held at a neutral venue between the winner of the UEFA Champions League and the winner of intercontinental play-offs between the clubs representing the other confederations.”
FIFA statement on 2025 Club World Cup in USA
The host selection process took into consideration the infrastructure and service requirements, as well as broader strategic objectives for the tournament. The decision was reached based on the United States’ position as a proven leader in staging global events and because it would allow FIFA to maximise synergies with the delivery of the FIFA World Cup 2026™, to the benefit of both tournaments and the development of football in the North American region. As a next step, FIFA will engage with the relevant stakeholders to finalise the dates, venues and match schedule of this new tournament.
“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,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “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.”
How will it work?
The new tournament will take place once every four years instead of the current yearly format.
2025 will see the tournament played in this new 32-team format for the first time.
12 of the 32 teams will come from Europe, with the UEFA Champions League winners from 2021-24 all qualified for the tournament. That means Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City and the winner in 2024, plus eight other European teams based on club rankings, will be playing in the tournament in the USA.
Six teams will come from CONMEBOL (South America), with the Copa Libertadores winners from 2021-24 and two other teams based on club ranking over a four-year period.
Four clubs from CONCACAF as the winners of the 2021-24 CONCACAF (North and Central America) Champions League winners will qualify, while four teams will come from CAF (Africa) with the CAF Champions League winners from 2021-24 and four teams will come from AFC (Asia) as the AFC Champions League winners from 2021-24 will qualify.
One club from OFC (Oceania) will qualify and it will be the highest ranked team from the OFC Champions League winners from 2021-24. The final spot will be given to a team from the host country, the USA, and how that team is picked will be determined at a later stage according to FIFA.
