Wubi News

How does the new Club World Cup work & why is it so controversial?

2024-12-05 15:00:50

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.

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 2022 Champions League finalists Liverpool are not included.

There are four club places each for Asia, Africa and also 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.

All qualifying teams have now been confirmed, the last being Botafogo, who beat fellow Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro in last week's final of the South American Copa Libertadores.

Pot 1: Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain, Flamengo, Palmeiras, River Plate, Fluminense

Pot 2: Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Porto, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Juventus, Salzburg

Pot 3: Al Hilal, Ulsan, Al Ahly, Wydad, Monterrey, Club Leon, Boca Juniors, Botafogo

Pot 4: Urawa Red Diamonds, Al Ain, Esperance Sportive de Tunisie, Mamelodi Sundowns, Pachuca, Seattle Sounders, Auckland City, Inter Miami

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.

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.

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.

The opening match will be held in Miami, and the final is scheduled for New Jersey.

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.