The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 kicks off in the United States on Saturday, with 32 teams vying for the title in the new-look expanded intercontinental club competition.
Here’s everything you need to know about the tournament:
What is the FIFA Club World Cup?
Until 2023, the FIFA Club World Cup was staged as an annual tournament every December and participation was limited to the winners of the continental club competitions, with the number ranging between six to eight clubs.
Starting in 2025, football’s governing body expanded the tournament to 32 teams and decided to run the revamped competition on a quadrennial cycle instead, similar to its showpiece FIFA World Cup.
A new FIFA Intercontinental Cup replaced the old Club World Cup as an annual competition in December 2024 with Real Madrid winning the inaugural edition held in Qatar.
How does the new Club World Cup work?
Historically, the Club World Cup has featured no more than eight teams, but the 2025 edition is vastly different.
This year’s edition on US soil will be the first in the tournament’s 24-year history to feature 32 clubs – the same number of teams as recent FIFA World Cups – including the winners of the four previous continental championships.
The teams will be divided into eight groups of four competing in a round-robin group stage with the top two clubs from each group advancing to the knockouts, which begin with the round of 16 and end with the final.
When is the FIFA Club World Cup?
The competition will begin on June 14, with the final scheduled for July 13. Here’s a breakdown of the schedule.
- Group stage: June 14 to 26
- Round of 16: June 28 to July 1
- Quarterfinals: July 4 and 5
- Semifinals: July 8 and 9
- Final: July 13
Which teams will participate in the Club World Cup?
“Soccer” fans in the US will have the chance to watch some of the most popular clubs, including last season’s UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid, Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, 10-time English champions Manchester City and Italian heavyweights Inter Milan.
Qualified teams were determined by the winners of the continental club competitions, such as the Champions League, and the confederation’s four-year rankings.
Outside of Europe, Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami is also part of the tournament, having controversially earned a spot as a representative of the host nation. Inter Miami won the Supporters’ Shield, handed to the team with the best regular-season record.
Of the 32 clubs, Europe (UEFA) is the best-represented confederation with 12 teams, followed by South America (CONMEBOL) with six. Asia (AFC), Africa (AFC) and North, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) have four teams each.
Oceania is represented by one club, while the final slot has been allocated to the host nation’s representative, Inter Miami.
Mexican club Leon had qualified by winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2023, but were removed by FIFA due to an ownership rule breach. FIFA said that Club Leon and another Mexican club in the tournament, Pachuca, did not meet regulations on multi-club ownership. Pachuca’s spot in the competition was unaffected.
After the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected Leon’s appeal, FIFA confirmed a playoff between Los Angeles FC and Mexican side Club America that was won by LAFC.
Here is a list of the eight groups:
- Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami
- Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders
- Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica
- Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, LAFC
- Group E: River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey, Inter Milan
- Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan HD FC, Mamelodi Sundowns
- Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus
- Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, FC Salzburg
Why are Chelsea, Inter Miami in, and Barcelona, Liverpool out of the FIFA Club World Cup?
FIFA rules for the Club World Cup state that only two teams from each country can play in the tournament, and European clubs’ participation was decided by their performances in the Champions League over the last four seasons.
Man City (2023) and Chelsea (2021) won the Champions League during that four-year window, taking up the two spots.
Other popular clubs such as Napoli, AC Milan, Barcelona, RB Leipzig and Sevilla also missed out due to UEFA’s four-year club coefficient rankings and two-team restrictions.
Where are the Club World Cup venues?
The 63 matches will be played across 12 venues in 11 cities. The opening match, Al Ahly vs Inter Miami, will be played at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, which has a spectator capacity of 65,000.
The MetLife Stadium, which serves as the home for the New York Giants and New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL), will host both the semifinals and the final. MetLife is an 82,500-seat venue and was also chosen as the venue of the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
Pasadena’s Rose Bowl, best known as a college American football venue, is the biggest stadium with a capacity of 88,500. It is no stranger to hosting big events: the Rose Bowl was the site for the football gold medal match at the Los Angeles Games in 1984, as well as the men’s World Cup final a decade later. It will also be a venue for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.
Here’s the full list of venues:
- MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey)
- Hard Rock Stadium (Miami, Florida)
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Georgia)
- Lumen Field (Seattle, Washington)
- Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina)
- TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- Rose Bowl Stadium (Los Angeles, California)
- GEODIS Park (Nashville, Tennessee)
- Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
- Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
- Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- Audi Field (Washington, DC)
Will Messi and Ronaldo play in the FIFA Club World Cup?
Messi will, thanks to Inter Miami’s surprise qualification.
Messi’s club found a place as the club with the most points in Major League Soccer’s (MLS) regular season, instead of LA Galaxy, who won the MLS Cup, which is regarded as the highest prize in the MLS.
FIFA announced Miami’s addition to the Club World Cup in October after they broke MLS’s regular-season points record with a 6-2 win over New England Revolution to reach 74 points. New England had set the previous record in 2021 with 73 points.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo and his Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr did not qualify for the tournament, but it didn’t stop FIFA President Gianni Infantino from suggesting that the Portugal star could switch to one of the teams participating in the tournament.
“Cristiano Ronaldo might play in the Club World Cup,” Infantino told online streamer IShowSpeed in late May. “There are discussions with some clubs, so if any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup, who knows? Still, a few weeks’ time, will be fun.”
However, Ronaldo cleared his position by saying, “You can’t take part in everything.”
“You have to think about the short, medium and long term. It’s a decision practically made on my part not to go to the Club World Cup, but I’ve had quite a few invitations to go.”
How much is the prize money for the Club World Cup?
The total prize pot is $1bn, with the champions earning up to $125m.
About half of the $1bn will be divided between the 32 clubs, with the amount per club based on sporting and commercial criteria. It means that clubs such as Manchester City and Real Madrid will receive a greater percentage than smaller clubs in a model FIFA developed with the European Club Association.
A further $475m will be awarded on a performance-related basis. Hence, the team with the most wins over a potential seven matches will bank more cash, with a maximum pot of $125m available.
How to follow and stream the Club World Cup live
Al Jazeera Sport will run a live photo and text commentary stream for a selection of the biggest group stage and knockout games.
Online provider DAZN will stream the tournament worldwide, with territorial sublicensing to local free-to-air linear broadcast networks a possibility.
