The United States will host Fifa’s first expanded Club World Cup in 2025, football’s global governing body has announced. Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, confirmed the 32-team tournament on the eve of the 2022 World Cup final.
Among the participants will be 12 European clubs, including the Champions League winners from 2021-24, meaning Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City have qualified. The remaining European clubs will be determined by a ranking based on the same four-year period.
The other 20 slots will be filled by six clubs from South America, including the Copa Libertadores winners between 2021 and 2024; four from the North, Central America and Caribbean confederation, in principle the 2021-24 Concacaf Champions League winners; four clubs each from Africa and Asia, also based on the respective Champions League winners; one club from Oceania – the highest-ranked club from its 2021-24 Champions League winners; and one club from the host country.
“The Fifa Club World Cup 2025 will be the pinnacle of elite professional men’s club football,” Infantino said. “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.”
The US will also host the 2024 Copa América and co-host the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada. The current version of the Club World Cup – an annual competition with seven teams – will be discontinued after this year’s tournament in Saudi Arabia in December.
The European Club Association has backed plans for the expanded Club World Cup but the World Leagues Forum expressed concern over Fifa’s “unilateral” decision to place it in the calendar.
