The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is the planned 21st edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, an international club soccer competition organized by FIFA. The tournament is scheduled to be played in the United States from June 15 to July 13, 2025. It is planned to be the first under an expanded format with 32 teams,[1] including the winners of the four previous continental championships.[2]
Since its return from hiatus in 2005, the FIFA Club World Cup had been held annually in December and limited to the winners of continental club competitions.[3] As early as late 2016, FIFA presidentGianni Infantino suggested expanding the Club World Cup to 32 teams beginning in 2019 and rescheduling it to June/July to be more balanced and more attractive to broadcasters and sponsors.[4] In late 2017, FIFA discussed proposals to expand the competition to 24 teams and have it be played every four years by 2021, replacing the FIFA Confederations Cup.[5] The expanded format and schedule of Club World Cup, to be played in June and July 2021, was confirmed at the March 2019 FIFA Council meeting in Miami.[6][7] China was appointed as host in October 2019,[8] but the 2021 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9][10]
On June 23, 2023, FIFA confirmed that the United States will host the 2025 tournament as a prelude to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[11] The host cities for the tournament remain undecided.[12] The 32 teams will be divided into eight groups of four teams with the top two teams in each group qualifying to the knockout stage.[13] The format will be the same that was used in the FIFA World Cup between 1998 and 2022, with the exception of a third-place play-off.[14]
In January 2024, it was reported that the tournament would take place on the East Coast to be closer to European broadcasters and viewers while also avoiding conflicts with the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which will also take place primarily in the United States around the same time but on the West Coast.[15]
Location of the UEFA teams participating in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup
On February 14, 2023, the FIFA Council approved the slot allocation for the 2025 tournament based on a "set of objective metrics and criteria". UEFA was awarded the most slots with twelve, while CONMEBOL was given the second most with six. The AFC, CAF, and CONCACAF were all given four slots, while the OFC and the host association were given one slot each.[16] On March 14, 2023, the FIFA Council approved the key principles of the access list for the tournament.[17] The principles are as follows, considering competitions completed during a four-year period from 2021 to 2024:[18]
CONMEBOL and UEFA (more than four slots): access for the winners of the confederation's top club competition between 2021 and 2024, with additional teams to be determined by a club ranking of the four-year period.[18]
AFC, CAF, and CONCACAF (four slots each): access for the winners of the confederation's top club competition between 2021 and 2024.[18][note 1]
OFC (one slot): access for the highest-ranked club among the winners of the confederation's top club competition between 2021 and 2024.[18][note 2]
Host country (one slot): To be determined at a later stage.
If a club wins two or more seasons of its confederation's top club competition, additional teams will be determined by a club ranking of the four-year period. Furthermore, a restriction of two clubs per association will be applied, except for champion clubs if more than two clubs from the same association win their confederation's top club competition. The calculation method for the four-year club rankings within each confederation will be based on sporting criteria during seasons completed between 2021 and 2024, and will be finalized after consultation with confederations and stakeholders.[17][18]
Qualified teams
The following teams have qualified for the tournament:[21][22][23][18]
Teams still in contention for qualification through four-year confederations rankings
Format
A restriction of two clubs per association is applied on teams eligible for qualifications via ranking. Clubs from Brazil are not eligible for classification via the four-year ranking due to this restriction, as three clubs have already qualified.
For confederations (other than Europe) the teams are ranked according to match result, excluding extra time (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss); and stage qualifications (3 points for each round reached, starting at the group stage). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[18]
The proposed expansion was criticized by FIFPRO, a global union of professional players, as well as the World Leagues Forum, which represents professional leagues; both organizations raised concerns about player welfare due to the added fixtures in an already congested playing calendar.[26][27] The Spanish top division league, La Liga, also criticized the plan and said in a statement that it would consider legal action to block the expansion.[28] Many clubs and national federations have opposed its scheduling, accusing FIFA of prioritizing money over the health of the players.[29]
The addition of the annual FIFA Intercontinental Cup tournament was also criticized for creating an overload of competitions that would further put the health of the players at risk.[30] In May 2024, FIFPRO and the World Leagues Forum published a letter they sent to FIFA that calls on a rescheduling of the tournament to give players more time to rest between major competitions, which have also seen expansions. The organizations also stated in the letter that they would advise member clubs to seek legal action or other options in the event that schedule congestion is not addressed.[30] On June 13, 2024, FIFPRO announced that England’s Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) and France's Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels (UNPF) submitted a legal claim with the Business Court in Brussels to protest the tournament.[31]
Notes
^As the AFC Champions League was shifted from an intra-year schedule to an inter-year schedule starting from 2023–24, only three seasons of the AFC Champions League were completed within the 2021 to 2024 timeframe, resulting in the remaining slot allocated using the 4-year club ranking.[18]
^ abAs the 2021 OFC Champions League was cancelled, the slot was awarded to the best club in the OFC's 4-year ranking that won the competition between 2022 and 2024.[18][19][20]
^ abcdefghiThe teams' participation was confirmed on March 14, 2023, with the approval of the access list. However, the teams won the competitions (that eventually qualified them for the Club World Cup) on the following dates: Al-Hilal (November 23, 2021), Al Ahly (July 17, 2021), Wydad Casablanca (May 30, 2022), Monterrey (October 28, 2021), Seattle Sounders FC (May 4, 2022), Palmeiras (November 27, 2021), Flamengo (October 29, 2022), Chelsea (May 29, 2021), and Real Madrid (May 28, 2022).
^ abIf any of the winners of the previous three competitions (Palmeiras, Flamengo, or Fluminense), becomes the winner of the 2024 Copa Libertadores, the spot will be redistributed to the third eligible team in the ranking.[18]
^As of May 30, 2024, there are multiple teams still in contention for the qualification slot based on the CONMEBOL four-year confederations rankings, with the current leader of the remaining spot being Boca Juniors.[18] This will not be finalized until the results of the 2024 Copa Libertadores are known. Clubs from Brazil are not eligible for classification via the four-year ranking due to the restriction of two clubs per association.[18]
^ abcdeFive eligible teams qualified on December 17, 2023, via 4-year confederations ranking, when the qualifying procedure was confirmed. These teams were both guaranteed a place in the top eight and could not be made ineligible by two teams from their own federation accumulating more points.[18]
^A maximum of 28 points can still be achieved at the 2024 tournament without winning. After the round of 16 – first leg, this reduces to 25 points.