USA is selected as host of new-look 2025 Club World Cup… with 32 teams – including Chelsea, Man City and Real Madrid – set to head Stateside a year out from the World Cup
- The USA has a busy soccer schedule coming up between 2024-26
- The new format also means the Club World Cup will be held every four years
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
The United States will host the first 32-team Club World Cup in 2025, it’s been announced by FIFA.
The country will already be hosting the Copa America in 2024 and the World Cup (along with Mexico and Canada) in 2026.
Now, the Club World Cup will also be coming Stateside, with the last three Champions League winners Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City set to participate.
The expanded 32-team format also means that the tournament will only take place every four years, starting in 2025.
‘The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be the pinnacle of elite professional men’s club football, and with the required infrastructure in place together with a massive local interest, the United States is the ideal host to kick off this new, global tournament,’ FIFA president Gianni Infantino said.
Manchester City and Real Madrid will be a part of the tournament in 2025
Real Madrid lifted the 2022 Club World Cup this past February in Rabat, Morocco
‘With some of the world’s top clubs already qualified, fans from every continent will be bringing their passion and energy to the United States in two years’ time for this significant milestone in our mission to make football truly global.’
There will be a total of 12 European teams represented, with a spot reserved for the 2024 Champions League winner and the next eight highest-ranked teams in UEFA’s four-year ranking.
Brazilian clubs Palmeiras and Flamengo are already confirmed for the competition after winning the Copa Libertadores, as well as Mexican outfits Monterrey and Leon for winning the CONCACAF Champions League in 2021 and 2023 respectively.
MLS will also be represented due to the Seattle Sounders’ 2022 triumph in that tournament.
Chelsea will also take part on account of them winning the 2021 Champions League
The yearly tournament has previously been competed among just seven teams, with Real Madrid winning the most edition in February.
With the US now hosting three tournaments in three years, the country has a busy schedule up to and including the 2026 World Cup.
‘We are thrilled that the United States has been selected to host the most prestigious club competition in world soccer,’ US Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone said.
‘This adds to the already unprecedented runway of top-tier events in which either our National Teams are involved or are taking place in our country and is yet another opportunity to grow the game here in the United States.’
