A host of Champions League clubs have reportedly dealt FIFA a crushing blow by rejecting their proposal to revamp the Club World Cup from the summer of 2025.
World football's chief governing body are said to have been in negotiations with Europe's elite sides over the past week, seeking their approval to stage a new 32-team competition to be held in the United States, where fragments of the next international World Cup will take place in 2026. According to the Mail, however, the clubs invited are refusing to accept FIFA's plan.
President Gianni Infantino had hoped to seal the deal during a meeting of the European Clubs Association held in Doha, Qatar last Friday. But when the ECA, which represents the 220 leading European sides, made it clear that they wouldn't sign-off on the proposal, Infantino pulled out at the eleventh hour.
