FIFA have confirmed their intention to press ahead with plans for a 32-team Club World Cup tournament in 2025.
Real Madrid won the most recent Club World Cup in Morocco last weekend, with the reigning European champions inserted straight into the semi-finals of a knockout competition where they beat Egypt's Al Ahly 4-1, before going on to win 5-3 against Saudi side Al-Hilal in the final.
The current format comprises of seven teams, with those from the lower ranked confederations starting the tournament earlier. Al Ahly, for example, played two matches in Morocco before facing Real Madrid, who were playing in their first.
It has long been the desire of FIFA to expand the tournament though, and they initially hoped to stage a 24-team tournament in China in 2021 before the pandemic put plans on hold.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino then announced they were pressing ahead for a 32-team Club World Cup during his closing speeches of the Qatar World Cup in December, to the surprise of many.
“As you will remember, we had agreed a few years ago to have a new men’s Club World Cup with 24 teams," he said.
"This should have taken place in 2021 [but] was postponed because of Covid. The new men’s Club World Cup will therefore take place in 2025 and will feature 32 teams, the best teams in the world.
"Of course, the details of that still need to be discussed and agreed, but the 32-team tournament will go ahead, making it really like a World Cup.”
New details of the tournament have now emerged, with FIFA stating that it will take place in June and July 2025 after "the Council unanimously approved the respective slot allocation."
That allocation has been split across the 32 teams, with 12 European clubs scheduled to take part along with six South American, four Asian, four African, four from North/Central America and the Caribbean, one from Oceania and one as the tournament host.
Should the tournament go ahead between June and July 2025 it would fall in a summer in between 2024 European Championships in Germany and the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.
However, it could end up clashing with the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations should that tournament revert to being played in the summer.
With the increasing amount of matches being played and several star players at the risk of burnout, the Club World Cup idea isn't likely to go down well in the game, and it isn't yet clear which clubs will qualify for it.
Gary Lineker was quick to ask a pertinent question about the tournament on Twitter, wondering "when would they fit that into a schedule that is already crammed?" And while we know the answer, it isn't too satisfactory for players who will need a rest amid relentless schedules.
Jamie Carragher took aim at the initial plans when they were announced in December, tweeting: "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."
