USA Selected To Host 32-Team FIFA Club World Cup In 2025
FIFA has recently announced an exciting development for football fans worldwide—an expanded 32-team FIFA Club World Cup is set to take place in the USA in 2025.
Under this new format, the tournament will feature 12 teams from Europe, six from South America, and four from each of the CONCACAF (North and Central America), CAF (Africa), and AFC (Asia) regions. Additionally, one team from OFC (Oceania) and a selected team from the USA will also join the competition.
This revamped Club World Cup will replace the current format after the 2023 edition in Saudi Arabia, becoming a quadrennial event. Despite this change, FIFA assures fans that an annual FIFA tournament will still be held. This tournament will bring together the champions of each confederation’s premier club competition and culminate in a grand final at a neutral venue between the winner of the UEFA Champions League and the victorious team from the intercontinental play-offs involving clubs representing other confederations. Football enthusiasts can look forward to a captivating display of talent and sportsmanship at these prestigious competitions.
Statement by FIFA on 2025 Club World Cup in USA
The host selection process took into consideration the infrastructure and service requirements, as well as broader strategic objectives for the tournament. The decision was reached based on the United States’ position as a proven leader in staging global events and because it would allow FIFA to maximise synergies with the delivery of the FIFA World Cup 2026™, to the benefit of both tournaments and the development of football in the North American region. As a next step, FIFA will engage with the relevant stakeholders to finalise the dates, venues and match schedule of this new tournament.
“The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be the pinnacle of elite professional men’s club football, and 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,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “With some of the world’s top clubs already qualified, fans from every continent will be bringing their passion and energy to the United States in two years’ time for this significant milestone in our mission to make football truly global.”
How Will the New Format Work?
FIFA has introduced an exciting new format for the FIFA Club World Cup, which will now take place once every four years instead of its previous annual schedule.
In 2025, the tournament will debut in this fresh 32-team structure. Among the 32 participating teams, 12 will represent Europe, comprising the UEFA Champions League winners from 2021 to 2024—Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City, and the 2024 winner—alongside eight other European teams selected based on club rankings.
Six teams will hail from CONMEBOL (South America), with the champions of Copa Libertadores from 2021 to 2024 securing their places, and two additional teams qualifying based on club ranking over the four-year period.
CONCACAF (North and Central America) will be represented by four clubs, namely the winners of the CONCACAF Champions League from 2021 to 2024.
Similarly, four teams from CAF (Africa) and four teams from AFC (Asia) will qualify, comprising the champions of the CAF Champions League and the AFC Champions League respectively, from 2021 to 2024.
The OFC (Oceania) will be represented by one club, specifically the highest-ranked team from the OFC Champions League winners from 2021 to 2024.
Completing the lineup will be one team from the host country, the USA. The selection process for this team will be determined by FIFA at a later stage. This new 32-team FIFA Club World Cup promises to be a football spectacle like no other, gathering the finest clubs from around the globe to compete on a grand stage.
