GENEVA — The United States will host the Club World Cup in 2025, the first time the FIFA tournament will have 32 teams — and one of them is Sounders FC.
Real Madrid of Spain, and English powers Manchester City and Chelsea already earned places as recent UEFA Champions League winners for the expanded tournament lineup that is set to test stadiums and operations one year before the 2026 World Cup.
The Sounders earned a place in the lineup by winning the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League title. The United States might get at least one more entry because it is the host nation.
The United States will host the men’s World Cup with Canada and Mexico, and FIFA could give some Club World Cup matches to those countries.
The Club World Cup will take place in June-July 2025. The United States was chosen as host Friday during an online meeting of the FIFA Council.
FIFA praised “the United States’ position as a proven leader in staging global events and because it would allow FIFA to maximize synergies with the delivery” of the 2026 tournament.
European teams have visited the United States for preseason games for years but the expanded club tournament will give fans a chance to see 12 of them in competitive matches.
FIFA said in March the basic qualification path for clubs was to win a continental championship in any of the four years from 2021 to 2024 in the five main confederations: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America.
Europe, with 12 teams, and South America, with six, are the only continents with more than four entries. Extra places should be awarded according to team rankings by results over a four-year span in continental competitions.
The current seven-team Club World Cup for continental champions played every season creates little broad appeal and FIFA has long wanted to stage a full-sized tournament every four years.
This expanded version in 2025 is a huge commercial opportunity for FIFA to try new broadcasting models and perhaps sign new sponsors.
The format for a Club World Cup lasting about three weeks has yet to be decided.
The current annual Club World Cup format will continue, with a final edition scheduled for December in Saudi Arabia.
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