FIFA wants to use performance in the Champions League as the way to select the majority of the European clubs in the controversial revamped version of the Club World Cup.
Back in December, FIFA president Gianni Infantino unveiled plans for an expanded 32-team Club World Cup, which would kick off in 2025. The competition currently features just seven teams and saw Real Madrid beat Egyptian side Al-Ahly in the most recent edition in Morocco in February.
Mirroring their plans for a bigger World Cup, FIFA is expanding the Club World Cup, which will take place in June and July 2025, although no venue has been announced yet. As reported by The Times, the idea is for European clubs to take 12 of the 32 places on offer, with eight decided by UEFA’s coefficient and the other four going to the Champions League winners from 2022 to 2025.
The plan is to spread out the places out among the countries, with only two teams per country able to qualify via the coefficient route. However, there could well be four teams from a single country when recent Champions League winners are included.
Under these plans Real Madrid, who beat Liverpool in last year’s Champions League final, would already be qualified for the Club World Cup. Whether they win this year’s competition or not, Manchester City would qualify on account of being ranked second in UEFA’s coefficient league, which is dominated by English teams.
Although Bayern Munich currently top the league, English sides make up three of the top four places, with City joined by Liverpool and Chelsea currently. Manchester United are seventh, Tottenham are 18th, while Premier League leaders Arsenal sit 23rd at present.
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FIFA had previously planned to hold a 24-team Club World Cup in China in 2021, but the coronavirus pandemic prevented that from happening. The idea to play in the summer of 2025 could cause several problems.
While it would fall in the summer between the 2024 European Championships in Germany and the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, it could clash with the Africa Cup of Nations, should that tournament revert to being played in the summer.
Another question is where it would be hosted. The next edition of the existing seven-team Club World Cup is to be played in Saudi Arabia in December, but it will be too hot to play there in the summer.
While Infantino has driven the plans forward, they are far from universally popular, with the Premier League understood to be against the expansion. There are also major concerns about player burnout, with the competition adding to an already hugely-demanding schedule. Last month Gary Lineker took to Twitter to ask a question on many fans’ lips: "when would they fit that into a schedule that is already crammed?"
Jamie Carragher has also been an outspoken critic of the idea. In December, he tweeted: "Like the ridiculous idea of the World Cup every two years, this is another one from Infantino.
"Players need rest at some point, they are getting treated like cattle. FIFA hate the Champions League & want something similar themselves. European clubs should boycott it."
