The FIFA Club World Cup is certainly one of the most exciting yet divisive new tournaments to have been formulated in recent times. The first of this new broader tournament will take place across the United States in June and July 2025.

The aim is for FIFA to host a club version of their seminal tournament, the FIFA World Cup. As with the World Cup, the Club World Cup will take place once every four years and will feature teams that qualify from all over the world.

The tournament will replace the current FIFA Intercontinental Cup, which is held in December each year, and will also be moved to the summer to take place at the end of the domestic season for most teams.

However, the updated and expanded tournament also has its critics and is not being universally welcomed, especially by European clubs. However, European punters won't be able to wait until they can bet on the tournament at bet365 Sport!

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This article explores the structure of the new FIFA Club World Cup, its organisation, the teams that will compete, the schedule, and the controversies surrounding it.

The New FIFA Club World Cup Format: Bigger and Bolder

The first of the new FIFA Club World Cup tournaments will be the first of a proposed four-yearly event. The first tournament will feature 32 teams. This is a substantial increase from the seven teams that participate in the annual FIFA Intercontinental Cup, which the Club World Cup is designed to replace and expand upon.

The new format purposefully aims to mimic the structure of the FIFA World Cup for national teams, with a group stage followed by knockout rounds.

In the new FIFA Club World Cup, the 32 qualifying teams are drawn into an initial group stage, from which the qualifying teams then qualify for the knockout phase of the tournament.

DAZN Sports have announced they will broadcast the tournament in full and will allow free-to-air viewing of matches in countries all around the world. 

When and Where Will The FIFA Club World Cup Be Played? 

The inaugural edition of the expanded tournament will take place from June 14th to July 13th 2025. The host nation will be the United States, partly as part of their preparation to host the forthcoming 2026 World Cup Finals alongside Canada and Mexico.

A total of 12 venues will be used across 11 host cities. Those venues are:

• Rose Bowl – Pasadena, California – 88,500
• MetLife Stadium – E.Rutherford, N.Jersey – 82,500
• Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, NC – 75,000
• Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta, GA – 75,000
• Lincoln Financial Field – Philadelphia, PA – 69,000
• Lumen Field – Seattle, WA – 69,000
• Hard Rock Stadium – Miami Gardens, FL – 65,000
• Camping World Stadium – Orlando, FL – 65,000
• Inter&Co Stadium – Orlando, FL – 25,000
• Geodis Park – Nashville, TN – 30,000
• TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH – 26,000
• Audi Field, Washington DC – 20,000

Structure and Organisation 

The 32 teams are drawn into eight groups of four, with each team playing three group-stage matches. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Round of 16, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final. 

This structure ensures a minimum of three matches for each team, increasing the tournament’s commercial appeal.

The draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup was recently made and produced the following Groups.

FIFA Club World Cup 2025 – Group Stage Draw

• 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 de Tunis, Chelsea, Leon
• Group E – River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey, Inter Milan
• Group F – Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan HD, Mamelodi Sundowns
• Group G – Manchester City, Wydad AC, Al Ain, Juventus
• Group H – Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Red Bull Salzburg

How Teams Qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup

The qualification process has been a central point of discussion. FIFA has opted for a multi-faceted approach to ensure global representation while prioritising competitive quality. Here is a breakdown of how teams will qualify:

1. Continental Representation:
   • UEFA (Europe): 12 slots, with clubs qualifying based on their performance in the UEFA Champions League and potentially the UEFA Europa League.
   • CONMEBOL (South America): 6 slots, reserved for the best-performing teams in the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana.
   • AFC (Asia): 4 slots, determined by the AFC Champions League.
   • CAF (Africa): 4 slots, decided by the CAF Champions League.
   • CONCACAF (North and Central America): 4 slots, with teams qualifying through the CONCACAF Champions League.
   • OFC (Oceania): 1 slot, likely for the winner of the OFC Champions League.
   • Host Nation: 1 slot reserved for a club from the host country.
2. Historical Performances: Some teams may qualify based on their historical success in continental tournaments over a set period (e.g., 2021-2024), ensuring the inclusion of globally recognised clubs.
3. Wild Cards: FIFA has proposed the possibility of allocating wild card entries to enhance competitiveness and marketability, though details remain vague. This is likely to be introduced if and when the tournament increases in size in future with a 48-team tournament, the same as the new World Cup from 2026, being mooted.

The Tournament Format

The 2025 FIFA World Club Cup will begin with a group stage. Each team plays the other teams in its group once for a guarantee of at least three games in the tournament.

From each of the eight groups, the top two teams qualify for the Round of 16. The bottom two teams in each group are then eliminated from the tournament.

The knockout stage begins on the 28th June and sees the winners of one group, taking on the runner up of another group. This stage has been pre-drawn and it means that the teams in Groups A to D cannot face a team from Groups E to H until the semi-final stage of the tournament. 

Both the semi-finals and the final will take place at Met-Life Stadium in New York. The opening fixture of the tournament will be Al Ahly against Inter Miami, which takes place on the 14th June at 8pm EDT (1am on 15th June UK Tome) at Miami Gardens in Florida.

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FIFA Club World Cup – The Controversies

Despite its ambitious goals, the new FIFA Club World Cup has attracted significant criticism from various quarters. The key controversies include:

1. Congested Football Calendar:
   • Critics argue that the expanded Club World Cup adds undue strain to an already packed football schedule. Players, managers, and even national team coaches have voiced concerns over burnout and injuries resulting from excessive matches.
   • With domestic leagues, continental tournaments, and international fixtures, many believe that squeezing in another major tournament is unsustainable.
2. Commercial Overload:
   • The tournament is widely seen as a revenue-generating project for FIFA, prioritising financial gains over footballing considerations. By adding a high-profile club competition, FIFA seeks to capitalise on the global popularity of elite club football, potentially at the expense of player welfare and competitive integrity.
3. Impact on Domestic Leagues and Other Tournaments:
   • The timing of the tournament in June and July could interfere with the pre-season schedules of participating clubs, especially in Europe.
   • Smaller competitions like the existing annual Club World Cup and other intercontinental tournaments may become obsolete, raising concerns about the dilution of football’s traditional structures.
4. Unequal Representation:
   • While the 32-team format aims for inclusivity, critics argue that the allocation of slots heavily favours UEFA and CONMEBOL, perpetuating football’s existing inequalities.
   • Smaller confederations like Oceania receive only one slot, limiting opportunities for lesser-known clubs to gain global exposure.
5. Logistical Challenges:
   • Hosting a 32-team tournament involves significant logistical hurdles, from travel arrangements to scheduling. The financial and environmental costs of such an event have also drawn criticism.
6. Club vs. Country Conflict:
   • National team coaches have expressed concerns about the potential for conflicts between club and country commitments, particularly for players involved in continental championships like the Copa América or UEFA European Championship, often held in the same summer. Although this seems to have been mitigated somewhat by holding the event in an odd-numbered year.

The Stakes and Potential Impact

Despite the controversies, the new FIFA Club World Cup has the potential to redefine global club football. It offers smaller clubs and confederations a chance to compete against elite teams, fostering global interest in the sport. For fans, the prospect of seeing their favourite clubs face off against teams from different continents is undeniably exciting.

From a commercial perspective, the expanded tournament is a goldmine according to some experts. Broadcasting rights, sponsorship deals, and ticket sales are expected to generate billions of dollars, boosting FIFA’s revenue streams and providing financial support to member associations.

Critics point out that while including teams from all over the world is inclusive, the fact that many top teams will miss out on the tournament, thus making it less appealing, could see FIFA quickly try to expand the tournament to include teams such as Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Barcelona, AC Milan, Ajax, Velez Sarsfield and several major Saudi League teams that feature stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, N’Golo Kante, David Trezeguet and more. 

FIFA have already drawn criticism for insisting that teams must play their first-choice teams at the event. Clearly, fearing that teams from Europe and South America may well play under-strength teams in the tournament.

However, the long-term impact on the football ecosystem remains uncertain. Will the new format achieve its goals of global inclusivity and competitiveness, or will it further widen the gap between football’s haves and have-nots? Only time will tell.

Conclusion

The new FIFA Club World Cup is an ambitious project that seeks to elevate the status of global club football. While its expanded format and global reach promise excitement and financial windfalls, the tournament’s implementation has been fraught with challenges. 

As June and July 2025 approach, football fans, players, and stakeholders will be watching closely to see whether the new format can live up to its lofty ambitions or whether it will succumb to the pressures of modern football.

However, in football money talks and the cynics may wonder if awarding the 2034 FIFA World Cup to Saudi Arabia recently, is the prelude to a massive money deal from the Saudi regime to invest in the new FIFA Club World Cup and make it so lucrative that no club could afford to turn down participating and trying to win.

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