The future of international club football is set to take an exciting turn with the introduction of a reimagined FIFA Club World Cup, slated to commence in the summer of 2025. This groundbreaking event will transform the landscape of the competition by expanding its reach to include 32 teams from around the globe. The inaugural tournament of this new format will be hosted by the United States, spanning from June 15th to July 13th, 2025.
This decision was ratified during a FIFA Council meeting held in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Alongside this, FIFA has also confirmed the advent of an annual Intercontinental Cup, which will feature the UEFA Champions League winner facing off against a team that emerges victorious from the Intercontinental playoffs. These playoffs are scheduled for December 14th, 2024, culminating in a grand final four days later on December 18th.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that the Club World Cup tournament will feature all the current confederation premier club champions.
“The (Club World Cup) tournament will feature all current confederation premier club competition champions,” FIFA President Infantino said.
“(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.”
The revamped Club World Cup will adopt a structure reminiscent of the FIFA World Cup, organizing teams into eight groups of four.
Each group’s top two teams will advance to the knockout stages, ensuring a competitive edge from the outset. This quadrennial event marks a significant departure from the current annual format, which will see its final iteration in Saudi Arabia. In the existing setup, the tournament is more concise, featuring seven teams with European and South American champions joining at the semi-final stage, while other confederation champions enter at earlier rounds.
