To be held in the United States between June 15 to July 13, 2025, the revamped continental football club competition, FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will see 32 clubs from around the world compete to be crowned world champions. The draw took place in Miami on Thursday, featuring a plethora of continental and domestic champions from every continent, as per the Olympics.com. Among the big teams competing are UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid of Spain, Brazil’s Botafogo who won the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores and Al Ahly of Egypt, who have claimed three of the last four CAF Champions League titles.
For the first time in the tournament’s 24-year history, 32 clubs will take part in the Club World Cup in the same format used in the World Cup, which is contested by nations.
Typically, the Club World Cup has been contested with six to eight teams, but the new format will see the most teams in the competition’s history.
Qualified teams were determined by the winners of the continental club competitions, such as the Champions League, and the confederation’s four-year rankings.
Of the 32 teams, Europe (whose confederation is UEFA) has the most representation with 12 teams, followed by South America (CONMEBOL) with six teams.
There are then four teams each from Asia (AFC), Africa (AFC) & North, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF).
Finally, Oceania (OFC) has one team present, while the final slot was allocated to the host nation’s domestic champions, which was Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
The teams will be divided into eight groups of four, playing a round-robin group stage with the top two advancing to the knockout stages, as per Olympics.com.
Although the tournament layout is confirmed, the full schedule is yet to be announced. The opening match will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on 15 June 2025, while the final will be on 13 July 2025 at MetLife Stadium in New York New Jersey.
Groups of FIFA Club World Cup 2025:
Group A: Palmeiras, FC Porto, Al Ahly and Inter Miami CF
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo and Seattle Sounders FC.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors and Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, Esperance de Tunis, Chelsea andLeon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey and Internazionale.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan HD and Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad AC, Al Ain and Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca and RB Salzburg.
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