World football governing body, FIFA is planning to launch a new 32-team men’s Club World Cup starting in 2025, the President of the association, Gianni Infantino, has said.
The FIFA president also revealed that the association is also on the verge of re-discussing the 2026 World Cup group state format.
Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the new Club World Cup concept that was planned for launch in China in 2021 with 24 teams was cancelled but is now set for further expansion from June 2025.
The international match calendar will also be altered from 2025, with one extended break spanning four matches in late September and early October replacing two separate windows in September and October. The other windows in November, March and June would remain unchanged.
The hosts for the men’s World Cup in 2030 will be decided in 2024 and the Women’s World Cup for 2031 will be decided in 2025. Infantino announced a desire to create a new women’s Club World Cup, a new Futsal Women’s World Cup and expand the Olympic Games Women’s tournament from 12 to 16 teams.
“The details of the location still need to be discussed but it has been agreed and decided that a 32-team Club World Cup tournament will go ahead making it like a World Cup.
“I don’t know what the British press says or doesn’t say, but I know what we’ve decided and that is that there will be a Club World Cup of 32 teams to be played every four years and the first edition will take place in 2025 in the summer.
“During that slot where in other years it would be the Confederations Cup, it will be slightly longer because there are 32 teams so it will last a bit longer but they will be the best teams in the world who will all be invited to participate.
“But all of the details will be developed in due course and we will decide where it will take place as well over the next few weeks or months in consultation with all of the stakeholders.
“The FIFA Council has taken the decision now as a matter of principle to hold that Club World Cup. Don’t forget that we were the only football organisation in the world, at least at international level, not to have organised a competition during the pandemic.
“Everyone else postponed their competitions but then shortened them or played them [at a later date] but we had a Club World Cup planned in 2020 with 24 teams that was cancelled. It wasn’t replaced or postponed, and we did that because we wanted to allow for the Copa America, the European Championships and we wanted to protect the health and well-being of players.
“We didn’t want to over-burden the calendar. That brings me to another issue and allows me to underscore that when we talk about the [FIFA] product over the next four years, the Club World Cup is not included in that $11bn forecast. That forecast is without taking into account this Club World Cup. So I think we’re going to have an even greater sum that we’ll be able to invest in world football over the next four years.”
