June 25 – The first edition of FIFA’s new-look 32-team Club World Cup will be held in the United States in the summer of 2025.
FIFA had confirmed in March that the revamped tournament will be played every four years and the FIFA Council have unanimously appointed the United States as the competition’s host country, though the competition will be co-ordinated via Concacaf rather than the US Soccer Federation (USSF).
The USA is also the host country for the 2024 Copa America (being organised between Concacaf and Conmebol) as well as being co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup along with Mexico and Canada. The current seven-team structure of the Club World Cup will be discontinued after the 2023 edition, though FIFA have said they will continue with a club competition in some form annually.
“The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be the pinnacle of elite professional men’s club football,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino who has long trumpeted the revamped tournament which, in its previous incarnation, had become something of an anachronism.
“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.”
All six confederation champions from 2021-2024 will be eligible which means Chelsea, Real Madrid and last season’s Champions League winners Manchester City have qualified from Europe.
The expansion of the Club World Cup has been a controversial issue, though mostly within Europe as other confederations have backed its expansion to give more, and higher paid, international opportunity for their leading club sides.
The competition will have to be squeezed into the middle of World Cup qualifying in Europe and just a few weeks before 2025-26 domestic seasons. This could potentially result in a backlash from clubs in terms of an overloaded calendar.
Europe will have 12 clubs playing in 2025, Conmebol will have six, while the AFC, CAF and Concacaf, will each have four. The OFC will have one slot while the US will also have one slot as the host country.
The timing of the competition will also have to reflect the 2025 Gold Cup that will take place in June/July 2025 and which is expected to be expanded for the 2025 edition with a number of guest teams. There will likely be some overlap with the Club World Cup though insiders say it is will only cover opening and closing rounds rather than be pitched into head-to-head competition over dates.
It is expected that Concacaf will be the leader in terms of the negotiations on dates and venues as they have the experience of dealing with venues and cities on a daily basis.
FIFA has indicated that the Club World Cup will also be used as a test event for the 2026 World Cup in the US. Though such is the scale of facilities, connectivity and infrastructure in the US, that any test is really only going over logistics
FIFA have also agreed to postpone the bidding process for the 2030 World Cup for “additional consultation with all key stakeholders.”
The vote by member federations was moved to the last quarter of 2024 instead of a previously expected meeting in September next year.
Europe has long committed to bidding for the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal to be joined by Morocco. South America also wants to host the centenary tournament, with original 1930 host Uruguay in a four-nation bid with Argentina, Chile and Paraguay.
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