GENEVA: Soccer’s biggest ever global club tournament is coming to the United States next year and the 32-team group stage will be drawn Thursday.
European powers Real Madrid and Manchester City, Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, recently crowned South American champion Botafogo and top clubs from Asia, Africa and Oceania are among the teams who are in the draw for FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup.
The tournament, which used to be played annually in December, will take place in 11 US cities from June 15 to July 13 in an expanded format with 32 teams instead of the previous seven. Going forward the Club World Cup will be played every four years – just like the World Cup for national teams, which will be co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada in 2026.
Here’s what to know about the Club World Cup draw, which is made in Miami at 1 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Thursday.
What is the Club World Cup?
FIFA and its presidents have long coveted a prime piece of club soccer content.
The 2025 Club World Cup is FIFA’s most ambitious project, creating a month-long tournament in a mid-June to mid-July slot historically used by the men’s World Cup, which draws the biggest audiences in global sports.
The new club competition uses the traditional 32-team format used by the World Cup from 1998 to 2022. Eight round-robin groups of four teams each, and the top two advance to a knockout bracket of 16.
In allocating 32 entries, FIFA tried to balance getting the best and most watchable teams with giving all the world a chance to compete and develop.
Europe got 12 places, South America six, while Africa, Asia and North America got four each. One place went to Oceania and one to the host nation that should change for each edition.
Teams qualified by winning their continental championship from 2021 through 2024, or ranking highly with consistent results across those four seasons. Countries are capped at two entries unless more won titles. Brazil will send four different Copa Libertadores winners and Mexico three champions of the CONCACAF region. The other North American champion was Seattle Sounders.
Who will play?
Storied and wealthy European names are in: Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain. The current leaders of most of Europe’s strongest leagues miss out: Liverpool, Barcelona, Napoli and Sporting Lisbon.
Salzburg earned the last European entry last season based on FIFA’s ranking system though it can hardly be considered among Europe’s top clubs: it’s currently 32nd in the new 36-team Champions League standings.
Argentina’s big two clubs, River Plate and Boca Juniors, are in. The Brazilian and Mexican entries include, respectively, Fluminense and Pachuca, both currently 16th in their national league standings.
Africa’s entries include Al Ahly of Egypt — three times champion of Africa in the last four years — and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, which is owned by FIFA vice president Patrice Motsepe.
Saudi Arabia sends Al-Hilal, the 2021 champion of Asia, which won the domestic league last season despite losing Neymar to a long-term injury.
If they stay fit, the tournament will feature a new generation of stars such as Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala.
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami will be there, with a FIFA thumb on the scales in October to give the team the host nation’s entry. Two other stars from Messi’s generation will miss out: Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr and Barcelona with Robert Lewandowski failed to qualify through their continental Champions League competitions.
Why is Inter Miami playing?
The previous version of the Club World Cup kept an entry for the host nation’s champion. But this time FIFA did not wait for the MLS Cup title game on Saturday, when LA Galaxy hosts New York Red Bulls. Neither will be in the draw Thursday.
Instead, Inter Miami, with the star power of Lionel Messi on the field and co-owner David Beckham, was given the Club World Cup place in October based on regular-season standings. It will play three group-stage games in Florida, including opening the tournament at the Hard Rock Stadium.
What are they playing for?
Money and a trophy. Which is more prized by club owners is a debate to be had.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has promised hundreds of millions of dollars in prize money, with reported guarantees of $50 million to top European teams, though it is currently unclear where from.
FIFA signed a global broadcasting deal Wednesday with streaming service DAZN to make all 63 games available for free. The value of the deal was not disclosed, and allows the streaming service to sell on rights to public broadcasters.
DAZN has close ties with Saudi Arabia, which promotes and stages top-level boxing title fights.
The new gold trophy has been fashioned by Tiffany and has Infantino’s name engraved on it twice. Plus his signature.
What is the tournament’s history?
Traditionally, the champions of Europe and South America played for the Intercontinental Cup. From 1980 to 2004 the game was played in Japan and usually in December.
FIFA launched a Club World Championship in 2000, played in January by eight teams in Brazil. It was not held again for nearly six years.
From 2005 through last year, the annual FIFA Club World Cup was played each December, settling on a seven-team knockout format: the six reigning continental champions and the host nation’s domestic champion. Hosts rotated between Japan, Abu Dhabi, Morocco, Qatar and, for its final edition last December, Saudi Arabia.
This annual event was unloved in Europe. The UEFA Champions League winner typically arrived for two games in four days and took home the trophy. Chelsea in 2012 was the only European team to lose in the past 17 years.
When first elected in 2016, Infantino spoke of FIFA’s need for a bigger, more attractive and lucrative club event.
In his previous job as UEFA general secretary, he helped organize the Champions League, in peak years of Messi winning the title at Barcelona and Ronaldo with Manchester United and then Real Madrid.
First, Infantino had a secretive $25 billion deal for new tournaments including a 24-team Club World Cup worth $3 billion every four years from 2021. That was blocked by European soccer officials.
Agreement was reached to play an inaugural 24-team tournament in June 2021 in China. Europe was to send just six teams.
No broadcast or sponsor deals had been announced by early 2020 when the tournament was scrapped because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The June 2021 slot was needed for the postponed Euro 2020 and Copa America.
After the failed Super League project in April 2021 rocked European soccer, FIFA found agreement for a 32-team Club World Cup.
The draw for FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup is coming up
https://arab.news/4p53n
The draw for FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup is coming up
- The tournament will take place in 11 US cities from June 15 to July 13 in an expanded format with 32 teams instead of the previous seven
- Europe got 12 places, South America six, while Africa, Asia and North America got four each
Dubai Capitals move up to second in ILT20 table with six-wicket win over Gulf Giants
- Rahman turned the match on its head in the 14th over, claiming three wickets in quick succession to derail the Giants’ innings
ABU DHABI: Dubai Capitals strengthened their push for a top-two finish in the International League T20 with a composed six-wicket victory over Gulf Giants at Zayed Cricket Stadium on Sunday, condemning the Giants to a fourth successive defeat.
A decisive all-round display, led by Mustafizur Rahman’s devastating spell with the ball and calm contributions from Shayan Jahangir and Rovman Powell in the chase, saw the Capitals climb to second in the points table.
Rahman turned the match on its head in the 14th over, claiming three wickets in quick succession to derail the Giants’ innings. Although James Vince (36 off 34 balls) and Azmatullah Omarzai (43 off 26) had looked threatening during the middle overs, the left-arm pacer’s intervention reduced the Giants from a position of promise to eventual collapse, as they were bowled out for 156.
In reply, Jahangir anchored the chase with a measured 48 from 44 deliveries, providing stability after an initially brisk start. Powell then finished the job with an unbeaten 47 off 31 balls, striking one four and three sixes to guide the Capitals home with an over to spare.
The Capitals began cautiously, with Jahangir lifting the tempo through early boundaries as they reached 33 without loss after four overs. The momentum briefly swung back in the fifth over when Omarzai removed Sediqullah Atal (9 off 10) and Jordan Cox (0 off 2), leaving the Capitals 42/2 at the end of the powerplay.
With the Giants’ spinners tightening the screws, runs were hard to come by through the middle phase. Jahangir held the innings together, finding support from Leus du Plooy (22 off 15), before Fred Klaassen bowled him just as the partnership began to build. At halfway, the Capitals were 68/3, requiring 89 from the final 10 overs.
Jahangir’s dismissal in the 15th over briefly threatened to stall the chase, but Powell ensured there was no panic, pacing his innings expertly. Mohammad Nabi then applied the finishing touches, scoring an unbeaten 25 off 14 balls, levelling the scores with a four before sealing victory with a six in the final over.
Earlier, the Giants had made a flying start through Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who struck 25 from 11 balls as his side surged to 39 without loss after three overs. Haider Ali halted the momentum by removing Gurbaz in the fourth over and later dismissed Lorcan Tucker (1 off 4), while Nabi accounted for Moeen Ali (7 off 6) as the Giants reached 53/3 at the end of the powerplay.
Vince and Omarzai then combined to steady the innings, adding 66 runs in 46 balls to push the Giants beyond the halfway mark. However, Rahman’s return proved decisive as he removed Vince, Omarzai and Sean Dickson (0 off 1) in a dramatic 14th over, exposing the lower order.
Kyle Mayers (24 off 20) and Mark Adair (12 off 12) attempted a late rally, but confusion between the wickets proved costly. A remarkable final over saw a hat-trick of run-outs as the Giants collapsed from 152/7 to be dismissed for 156.
Capitals stand-in captain Nabi praised his side’s collective effort.
“It was a complete team performance,” he said. “They started strongly, but Mustafizur’s over changed the game. Haider was excellent in the powerplay and Fizz really shifted the momentum. Rovman paced the chase superbly and made sure we stayed in control.”
Giants skipper Vince admitted his side’s struggles continued.
“It’s been a familiar pattern,” he said. “We get into good positions but lose two or three wickets quickly when one falls. That puts pressure on the rest of the batters and makes it difficult to finish the innings strongly.”
