2025 Club World Cup to last 29 days, Fifa confirm in Saudi Arabia
The 32-team quadrennial Club World Cup will stretch across nearly a month in the summer of 2025, Fifa confirmed on Sunday.
The competition will launch from 15 June to 13 July 2025 and will be hosted in the United States.
The move restricts the amount of time players from qualifying Premier League teams will have between the conclusion of the competition and the start of the 2025-26 domestic season.
The decision was presented at a meeting of the Fifa Council in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday.
English sides already in 2025 competition
Manchester City, Real Madrid and Chelsea will take part, as recent Champions League winners, alongside nine other European teams.
The 32 teams will compete in the United States a year before the nation co-hosts – alongside Canada and Mexico – the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
There will be eight groups of four with the top two in each qualifying for a round of 16.
The European Club Association has endorsed the new competition and Fifa hopes that the new competition will help in addressing European dominance in club football.
“Clubs play a fundamental role in world football, and the Fifa Club World Cup 2025 will be a major milestone in providing clubs from all confederations with a fitting stage on which to shine at the highest level of the game,” Fifa president Gianni Infantino said.
“This will be an open competition based on sporting merit that will play a key role as part of our efforts to make football truly global.”
This comes in the same cycle as an expanded World Cup, which has led to some concerns surrounding player welfare.
Elsewhere the Fifa Council confirmed that a new Intercontinental Cup will be introduced from next year between the winners of the Champions League and the winners of other intercontinental playoffs.
“The tournament will feature all current confederation premier club competition champions,” Infantino added.
“(It) concludes with a final at a neutral venue between the UEFA Champions League winners and the winners of an intercontinental play-off between clubs from the other confederations.”
Other qualified teams for the 2025 competition include Neymar and Ruben Neves’ Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal, Brazilian trio Palmeiras, Flamengo and Fluminense and MLS outfit the Seattle Sounders.
Manchester City will be in Saudi Arabia this week to face Japanese outfit Urawa Reds in the semi-finals of this year’s Club World Cup. The final is on Friday.