FIFA president Gianni Infantino has announced that the United States of America will host the first 32-team FIFA Club World Cup tournament.
Currently, the Club World Cup is a seven-team tournament that sees the Champions League winners from each confederation, plus the host nation's league champions, compete for the trophy. However, the 2023 edition in Saudi Arabia will be the last under this format.
From 2025, 32 teams will enter the tournament. In Europe, 12 clubs will qualify including the last four Champions League winners who are Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City and next season's winners.
The other eight clubs will be chosen by a club ranking based on the same four-year period. CONMEBOL will provide six teams, CONCACAF, CAF and AFC will provide four each while OFC will have just one representative.
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One team will also enter from the host country, in this case the USA, but the qualification process will be decided at a later stage. Discussing the expansion, Infantino said: "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."
The new Club World Cup format will work in a similar way to the World Cup. There will be a group phase of eight groups of four, the top two will qualify for the last 16.
City's victory in Istanbul earlier this month means they will compete in the FIFA Club World Cup for the very first time in December. The Copa Libertadores winners have not been crowned yet but the Blues know they will be facing Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan), Al Ahly (Egypt), Leon (Mexico), Auckland City (New Zealand) and Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia).
Matches for the final seven-team tournament will be played between December 12 and 22.
