How does the new Club World Cup work & why is it so controversial?
What is the Club World Cup?
- Published
The new expanded Fifa Club World Cup will take place in the United States from 15 June to 13 July 2025.
Previously an annual tournament contested by the top seven teams, the Club World Cup will now feature 32 teams and occur once every four years.
The tournament once branded a "mistake" by ex-Fifa president Sepp Blatter is undergoing a revamp as significant as it is controversial.
The draw for the tournament took place on Thursday.
- Published5 December
How have teams qualified?
Teams from each of the six international football confederations will be at the Club World Cup: Asia (AFC), Africa (Caf), North and Central America (Concacaf), South America (Conmebol), Oceania (OFC) and Europe (Uefa).
There are 12 places available for European clubs - the highest quota of the confederations. These places are decided by clubs' Champions League performances over the past four seasons.
That means recent winners Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid have all qualified.
Other European teams have qualified through a Uefa ranking system determined by clubs' performances over the four seasons. Only two clubs per country can qualify, so England's 2022 Champions League finalists Liverpool are not included.
Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg - who will be known as FC Salzburg because of Fifa sponsorship regulations - will be there.
There are four club places each for Asia and Africa, as well as the North and Central America federation.
Six places are awarded to South American clubs, and one to Oceania.
Clubs have accrued points over the most recent four seasons, based on their performances in their continental club competitions.
Fifa Club World Cup 2025 draw in full
Group A: Palmeiras, FC Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami
Group B: Paris St-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica
Group D: Flamengo, Esperance Sportive de Tunisie, Chelsea, Club Leon
Group E: River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey, Inter Milan
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg
Why is Lionel Messi involved?
One spot in the tournament is reserved for a team from the host nation.
Fifa opted to award that place to Inter Miami for winning the 2024 MLS Supporters' Shield, the trophy given out to the team which has the best regular-season record. The Floridians then lost in the MLS play-offs, meaning they are not this season's champions.
The invitation handed out to Lionel Messi's Inter Miami has drawn some criticism
The decision to invite Inter Miami to the Club World Cup before the MLS campaign was concluded has been interpreted by some as an attempt on Fifa's part to ensure Lionel Messi, who joined the team in 2023, will play in a tournament that has attracted little public enthusiasm so far.
How does the format work?
The revamped Club World Cup will run in a similar way to the international men's and women's World Cup competitions.
The 32 teams will be divided into eight groups of four, who will play each other once in a round-robin format. The top two teams from each group will then go through to the knockout stages.
Unlike the international World Cups, the Club World Cup will have no third-place play-off.
The final will take place on 13 July 2025.
Where will matches be held?
All matches will be held in the United States, a year before the country co-hosts the 2026 World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico.
Fixtures are set to be played in 12 different stadiums.
Atlanta, Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Charlotte, TQL Stadium
Cincinnati, Bank of America Stadium
Los Angeles, Rose Bowl Stadium
Miami, Hard Rock Stadium
Nashville, GEODIS Park
New Jersey, MetLife Stadium
Orlando, Camping World Stadium
Orlando, Inter&Co Stadium
Philadelphia, Lincoln Financial Field
Seattle, Lumen Field
Washington DC, Audi Field
The opening match will be held in Miami, and the final is scheduled for New Jersey.
Where can I watch the Club World Cup?
Streaming platform DAZN has secured exclusive rights and will show all 63 matches free to view on on its platforms, and there is also potential for it to sublicense rights to local free-to-air broadcasters.
Why is the new Club World Cup controversial?
Fifa is currently facing legal action, external from player unions and leagues about the scheduling of the tournament.
Global players' union Fifpro and the top European Leagues say the international football calendar is "oversaturated" and "risks player safety and wellbeing".
Several players - including Liverpool's Alisson Becker and Manchester City's Rodri - have raised concerns about player wellbeing amid an increasingly jam-packed football calendar.
There are just five weeks between the Club World Cup final and the first Premier League match of the 2025-2026 season, which is scheduled for 16 August.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has already requested a late start to the Premier League season for his team, while City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne told reporters: "The issue is that Uefa and Fifa keep adding extra matches, and we can raise concerns but no solutions have been found. It seems that money speaks louder than the players' voices."
A Fifa spokesperson BBC Sport: "The Fifa Club World Cup is not responsible for calendar congestion. It is a competitive tournament that takes place once every four years and, as independent studies have verified, Fifa is only responsible for a small percentage of matches per season.
"Fifa cares about the welfare of the players. Following a decision taken earlier this year, Fifa is formalising the Task Force on Player Welfare, headed by Arsene Wenger, to promote further global dialogue on player welfare issues with key stakeholders across football."
What about the Women's Euros?
The Club World Cup will partially overlap with Women's Euro 2025, which runs from 2-27 July.
BBC Sport asked Fifa to justify this scheduling clash and whether there were concerns about the Women's Euro competing with the Club World Cup for attention.
A Fifa spokesperson told BBC Sport: "The international match calendar for 2025-2030 was approved by the Fifa Council in 2023, which is made up of members from each of the six confederations, including Uefa.
"While Fifa accepts that both the men's and women's international match calendars are constrained by obvious limitations, this was deemed to be the most balanced solution.
"It is also important to note that given the time difference between Switzerland [host of Uefa Women's Euro 2025] and the United States [where the Fifa Club World Cup will take place], the number of matches where a potential clash could take place will be fewer."