All You Need To Know About The New $1bn FIFA Club World Cup
FIFA’s newest and most controversial tournament kicks off next weekend as 32 of the top club teams in world football meet in the brand new $1bn FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
The brainchild of FIFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino, this is ostensibly a World Cup for club teams, with a $1 billion prize fund to be shared among the competing teams, who will qualify for the tournament over a four-year cycle.
However, the tournament is also controversial for several reasons. Many are unhappy with the Saudi Public Investment Fund sponsoring the tournament and providing the $1 billion prize money. FIFA has angered clubs by insisting that they must play their first-choice teams, or risk sanction, while players’ unions are unhappy that another tournament is being added to an already crowded club and international calendar.
Despite this, the first tournament kicks off next weekend, so let’s take a closer look at how it will be organised.
FIFA Club World Cup 2025 – Who Is Participating?
The 32 teams that qualified for the event did so from the following competitions over the last four years.
- Europe – Champions League
- South America – Copa Libertadores
- Africa – CAF Champions League
- Oceania – OFC Champions League
- Asia – AFC Champions League
- North & Central America – CONCACAF Champions League
There was one exception to this rule, FIFA have an invite they can offer to a team to play as a ‘host’ in the event and they handed that to Inter Miami, ostensibly to ensure Lionel Messi’s participation in the tournament.
Club Leon had qualified as one of the North and Central American teams but as their owners already had one team in the event, Leon were excluded due to ownership rules and LAFC earned the chance to replace them by beating Club America in a playoff.
The full list of qualifiers is:
- The Host Team (United States) – Inter Miami
- 12 from Europe (UEFA) – Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris St Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, FC Porto, Juventus, Benfica, Red Bull Salzburg
- 6 from South America (CONMEBOL) – Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo, River Plate, Boca Juniors
- 1 from Oceania (OFC) – Auckland City
- 4 from North & Central America (CONCACAF) – Monterrey, Seattle Sounders, Pachuca, LAFC
- 4 from Africa (CAF) – Al Ahly, Wydad AC, Esperance, Mamelodi Sundowns
- 4 from Asia (AFC) – Al Hilal, Urawa Red Diamonds, Al Ain, Ulsan HD
FIFA Club World Cup 2025 – Organisation
Each of the 32 qualifiers for this event were drawn into one of eight four-team groups and will play the teams in their group once during the initial Group Phase.
The top two teams in each group then head into the Round of 16. From this point on, the tournament is a straight knockout through to the final, with extra time and penalties (if required) used to determine the winner in the event of a draw after 90 minutes.
FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Phase 1 – Group Stage
The draw for the Group Stage has already been made and the following groups were decided.
- Group A – Al Ahly, Inter Miami, Palmeiras, FC Porto
- Group B – Paris St Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders
- Group C – Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica
- Group D – Flamengo, Esperance de Tunis, Chelsea, LAFC
- Group E – River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey, Inter Milan
- Group F – Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan HD, Mamelodi Sundowns
- Group G – Manchester City, Wydad AC, Al Ain, Juventus
- Group H – Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Red Bull Salzburg
The action begins in the early hours of Sunday 15th June and you will be able to find betting on every game throughout the tournament at bet365 Sport.
