Just two weeks after obliterating Inter Milan in Munich to claim the 2025 Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain start their quest on Sunday night for a fifth trophy of the season at the 2025 Club World Cup in the United States.
PSG's Group B opener against Atletico Madrid at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles will be followed by ties against the Brazilian outfit Botafogo and the Seattle Sounders.
The top two from the group and the seven other pools will advance to the last-16 knockout stages which culminate in the final on 13 July at the MetLife Stadium in New York.
"It starts a new era of football," said Gianni Infantino, the boss of world football's governing body Fifa in an interview with the French news agency AFP.
"It's a new era of club football. It's a little bit like when, in 1930, the first World Cup started.
"Everyone today speaks about the very first World Cup. That's why this World Cup here is historic."
Infantino was the driving force behind the transformation into a 32-team format. At its inception in January 2000, the Fifa Club World Championship featured eight sides from six confederations and lasted nine days.
The 2025 iteration boasts outfits from the same six confederations and will last for a month.
Hosts Inter Miami – featuring seven-time Ballon D'Or winner Lionel Messi – kicked off the extravaganza on Saturday night with a 0-0 draw with the Egyptian team Al-Ahly.
PSG, who lost to Atletico Madrid during the league stage of the Champions League, will be one of two matches on Sunday.
'Finish in style'
“We want to finish the season in style with the cherry on the cake,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique ahead of the game against the Spaniards.
"This is a new competition and it will help us to see the level of the top clubs in the world."
Enrique's side qualified for the football fest because of its record in the Champions League over the past four years. River Plate and Boca Juniors also gained places at the tournament for their performances in the Copa Libertadores – the South American equivalent of the Champions League.
Winners of the continental trophies in the four years leading up to the tournament were given a place automatically.
For example, Chelsea, the Uefa Champions League winner in 2021, will be among 12 clubs from Europe. Six sides from South America will vie for glory along with eight teams from the Asian and African confederations.
The North Americans will also provide four sides. Auckland City, who kick off their campaign against Bayern Munich on Sunday at the TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, will be the sole representative from the Oceania confederation.
Desire to compete
“Everyone wants to compete," said River Plate boss Marcelo Gallardo. "The question is how you prepare to win, to try to win. That’s what challenges me. I want to win. I don’t want to just go and see what happens.”
Infantino has dismissed concerns that the tournament adds to fixture congestion but acknowledged that some fans were yet to be sure of the value of the tournament.
"I'm convinced that as soon as the ball starts rolling, the whole world will realise what is happening here and that it's something special," he said.
Reports of low uptake of tickets for some games has led to criticism of Fifa's ticketing policy with 'dynamic pricing', increasingly common in the United States, allowing for prices to rise and fall according to demand.
But Infantino defended the approach and the decision to offer heavy discounts to students in Miami.
"They criticise Fifa if the prices are too high, then they criticise Fifa if the prices are too low.
"Then they criticise Fifa if we make ticketing promotions with students. Students! I mean, when I was a student and I didn't have money, I would have loved Fifa to come to me and say: 'You want to come and watch a World Cup match?'"
Infantino added: "We don't want to see empty stadiums. I believe the stadiums will be pretty full," he said.
