The 2025 Club World Cup<\/a> is a first-of-its-kind tournament that, in FIFA\u2019s dreams, is precisely what its name suggests. It\u2019s a 32-team extravaganza modeled after soccer\u2019s actual World Cup<\/a>, with one key difference: top professional clubs, such as Real Madrid \u2014 rather than national teams, such as Spain \u2014 are the contestants.<\/p>\n It is scheduled to begin June 15, 2025, in the United States. And when it does, to FIFA<\/a>, it will be \u201cinnovative, inclusive, groundbreaking and truly global.\u201d It represents a novel concept in sports, where the vast majority of pro teams compete exclusively within national or continental borders; the Club World Cup, on the other hand, will feature multinational pro teams \u2014 soccer\u2019s equivalent of the New York Knicks or Kansas City Chiefs \u2014 from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.<\/p>\n It is, in theory, a true world championship. But it\u2019s also controversial<\/a>. Its launch has been dogged by organizational missteps, financial battles, player workload concerns and resistance from the European soccer establishment. The resistance has been so fierce that, until recently, some insiders questioned whether the 2025 tournament would even happen at all.<\/p>\n Now, though, puzzle pieces are squirming into place. Twelve U.S. stadiums<\/a> have been chosen. A global broadcast deal with DAZN<\/a> has been signed. The draw, set for Thursday<\/a> at 1 p.m. ET, is near.<\/p>\n The Club World Cup is happening. And the following is an attempt to explain it, beginning with the basics, then the complexities.<\/p>\n The Club World Cup opens June 15, 2025, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.<\/p>\n It concludes July 13 with the final at MetLife Stadium<\/a> in East Rutherford, New Jersey.<\/p>\n The full schedule \u2014 dates, locations, matchups, kickoff times \u2014 should be released soon after Thursday\u2019s draw.<\/p>\n The 12 U.S. venues set to host games are:<\/p>\n \u2022 Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta Most are on or near the U.S. east coast because of its proximity to Europe, which will send 12 teams, and which boasts coveted media markets. East-coast games will minimize travel (for teams and fans) and inconvenient time differences (for TV viewers).<\/p>\n FIFA also made this decision in coordination with CONCACAF, soccer\u2019s North and Central American governing body, which will stage its continental championship, the Gold Cup, simultaneously and entirely west of the Mississippi River<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 32 clubs set to participate are \u2026<\/p>\n Europe (12):<\/strong> Manchester City (England), Chelsea (England), Real Madrid (Spain), Atl\u00e9tico Madrid (Spain), Bayern Munich (Germany), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Juventus (Italy), Inter Milan (Italy), PSG (France), Benfica (Portugal), Porto (Portugal), RB Salzburg (Austria)<\/p>\n North America (5):<\/strong> Inter Miami (U.S.), Seattle Sounders (U.S.), Monterrey (Mexico), Pachuca (Mexico), Le\u00f3n (Mexico)<\/p>\n South America (6):<\/strong> Flamengo (Brazil), Palmeiras (Brazil), Fluminense (Brazil), Botafogo (Brazil), River Plate (Argentina), Boca Juniors (Argentina)<\/p>\n Asia (4):<\/strong> Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Ulsan (South Korea), Urawa Reds (Japan), Al Ain (UAE)<\/p>\n Africa (4):<\/strong> Al Ahly (Egypt), Wydad (Morocco), Esp\u00e9rance (Tunisia), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)<\/p>\n Oceania (1):<\/strong> Auckland City (New Zealand)<\/p>\n In 2023, FIFA allocated<\/a> the Club World Cup\u2019s 32 berths to Europe (12), South America (6), CONCACAF (4), Africa (4), Asia (4), Oceania (1) and the host nation (1).<\/p>\n To earn those berths, there were two qualification routes<\/a> \u2014 one simple, one complicated.<\/p>\n The simple path was via continental championships. Every club that won the UEFA Champions League, the Copa Libertadores, the CONCACAF Champions Cup, or the Asian and African equivalents between 2021 and 2024 qualified automatically.<\/p>\n Beyond those champions, slots were filled by a results-based ranking system<\/a>, but with a caveat: only the top two clubs from any given country could qualify via rankings.<\/p>\n So, even though Liverpool ranked eighth in Europe, the Reds missed out because Man City and Chelsea won the Champions League in 2023 and 2021. Barcelona, meanwhile, ranked two spots behind Atl\u00e9tico Madrid \u2014 because Barca underperformed in the Champions League over the last four seasons. Salzburg ranked 18th, but snuck in because others from Spain, Italy and Germany also ran up against the two-per-country cap.<\/p>\n In South America, four different Brazilian clubs swept the Libertadores titles. Argentine giants Boca and River claimed the two additional seats at the table.<\/p>\n In Africa, Al Ahly won three of four Champions League titles, so Esp\u00e9rance and Mamelodi Sundowns joined them and Wydad in the field.<\/p>\n In CONCACAF, things were straightforward, with four distinct winners \u2026 except for the \u201chost nation slot.\u201d FIFA never said how a team could claim that slot \u2014 until October when FIFA president Gianni Infantino appeared in South Florida, unannounced on the final day of the MLS regular season, to declare that Inter Miami would get it<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. You can watch a live stream on FIFA.com<\/a>, FIFA+<\/a> or DAZN<\/a>.<\/p>\n (As of Wednesday morning, there were no plans to broadcast it on cable or over-the-air TV in the U.S.)<\/p>\n Much like a classic World Cup draw<\/a>, but with several special stipulations<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 32 teams have been seeded into four pots<\/a>, in part based on rankings, in part based on geography:<\/p>\n Pot 1:<\/strong> Manchester City (Europe), Real Madrid (Europe), Bayern Munich (Europe), PSG (Europe), Flamengo (South America), Palmeiras (South America), River Plate (South America), Fluminense (South America)<\/p>\n Pot 2:<\/strong> Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Porto, Atl\u00e9tico Madrid, Benfica, Juventus, RB Salzburg (all Europe)<\/p>\n Pot 3:<\/strong> Al Hilal (Asia), Ulsan (Asia), Al Ahly (Africa), Wydad (Africa), Monterrey (CONCACAF), Le\u00f3n (CONCACAF), Boca Juniors (South America), Botafogo (South America)<\/p>\n Pot 4:<\/strong> Urawa Reds (Asia), Al Ain (Asia), Esp\u00e9rance (Africa), Mamelodi Sundowns (Africa), Pachuca (CONCACAF), Seattle Sounders (CONCACAF), Auckland City (Oceania), Inter Miami (CONCACAF)<\/p>\n The draw begins with Pot 1. The first team picked goes into Group A, Position 1; the next team picked probably<\/em> goes into Group B, Position 1; and so on. After all eight groups are filled with a Pot 1 team, a similar procedure empties Pot 2, then Pot 3, and finally Pot 4 \u2014 but subject to the following \u201cconstraints<\/a>\u201d:<\/p>\n Man City and Real Madrid, as the top two teams, must go to groups whose winners will stay on opposite sides of the knockout bracket. (One side is Group A, C, E and G; the other is B, D, F and H.) Bayern Munich and PSG, as seeds Nos. 3 and 4, will also be sent to opposite sides. And they\u2019ll be placed to ensure that none of the four European superpowers could meet before the semifinals if they all win their groups. (The same exact principles apply to Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 from South America.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The top four teams from Pot 2 \u2014 Chelsea, Dortmund, Inter and Porto \u2014 must be placed in groups with a South American team from Pot 1. The rest of Pot 2 \u2014 Atl\u00e9ti, Benfica, Juve and Salzburg \u2014 will be paired with a fellow European club from Pot 1.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Teams from the same country can\u2019t be in the same group \u2014 meaning Atl\u00e9tico Madrid can\u2019t draw Real Madrid.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Beyond the four pairings of European teams, no two clubs from the same continent can be grouped together.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Inter Miami will get Position 4 in Group A, and Seattle will get Position 4 in Group B, so that they can play the opening games of the tournament (against teams from Pot 3).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n The Club World Cup will run just like past men\u2019s World Cups, with the 32 teams divided into eight groups of four.<\/p>\n The top two in each group will advance to the Round of 16. From there, single-elimination games will decide a champion.<\/p>\n For roughly two decades, FIFA ran another tournament also called the Club World Cup. That, though, was a shorter seven-team tournament played annually in the winter, and contested by only the most recent champion of each continent (plus one club from the host country).<\/p>\n That tournament has now morphed into the \u201cFIFA Intercontinental Cup.\u201d The 32-team quadrennial summer tournament that will launch in 2025, and that you\u2019re reading about now, is distinct, and unconnected to the seven-team annual version \u2014 other than the \u201cClub World Cup\u201d name.<\/p>\n The European giants, according to BetMGM<\/a>.<\/p>\n Their betting odds and relative standing could change between December and June, but for now the favorites are Manchester City (+320), Real Madrid (+360), Bayern Munich (+600), Chelsea (+700), Inter Milan (+950) and PSG (+1000).<\/p>\n That\u2019s the million-dollar question of the Club World Cup. With intercontinental club competitions so scarce, not a soul knows for sure how clubs from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, MLS, East Asia, North Africa and elsewhere will measure up to the likes of Bayern, PSG and Porto.<\/p>\n The assumption \u2014 based on rosters and salaries \u2014 is that the European teams are superior. But betting markets are somewhat skeptical, and suggest the gap might be thinner than Westerners realize. Per BetMGM<\/a>, Palmeiras is +1900 to win the title \u2014 same as Dortmund and Juve. Al Hilal and Flamengo are +2500 \u2014 same as Porto and Benfica.<\/p>\n There are several<\/a> indexes<\/a> grounded in analytics that attempt to rank clubs across borders and seas. Most lead to a middle-ground conclusion: the Man Cities, Real Madrids and Bayerns of the world stand confidently atop the sport, but not all European teams do. Upsets will be possible. Opta\u2019s power rankings<\/a>, which include over 13,000 clubs, rate the 32 Club World Cup contestants as follows:<\/p>\n (Opta global rank, rating in parentheses, as of Dec. 2)<\/em><\/p>\n Inter Milan (2, 98.9)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Manchester City (3, 98.4)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Real Madrid (5, 97.4)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Bayern Munich (8, 95.7)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n PSG (9, 95.7)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Chelsea (12, 94.5)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Juventus (13, 94.2)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Atl\u00e9tico Madrid (14, 93.6)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Borussia Dortmund (20, 92.4)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Benfica (21, 92.4)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Porto (26, 91.3)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Al Hilal (30, 90.7)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Botafogo (55, 87.9)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Palmeiras (58, 87.4)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Flamengo (68, 86.4)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n River Plate (99, 84.8)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Al Ahly (106, 84.5)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Inter Miami (113, 84.2)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Seattle Sounders (143, 83.2)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Monterrey (144, 83.2)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n RB Salzburg (150, 83.0)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Boca Juniors (160, 82.5)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Fluminense (166, 82.5)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Mamelodi Sundowns (220, 80.8)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Esp\u00e9rance (324, 78.8)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Ulsan (361, 78.4)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Pachuca (375, 78.2)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Urawa Reds (389, 77.9)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Le\u00f3n (400, 77.8)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Wydad (565, 75.8)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Al Ain (678, 74.7)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Auckland City (4082, 59.0)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n Probably. In fact, FIFA\u2019s published Club World Cup regulations<\/a> state that all participating clubs must \u201cfield their strongest team throughout the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n But there are questions around how \u201cstrongest team\u201d would be defined, and how that rule would be enforced. And there is context. A select few of the biggest clubs, such as Real Madrid, don\u2019t seem all that enthusiastic about participating. They will have to be incentivized to come and try to win. How? With tens of millions of dollars in prize money and appearance fees.<\/p>\n Sort of \u2014 to the extent that all of modern sport is about money.<\/p>\n The Club World Cup is FIFA\u2019s attempt to monetize soccer\u2019s biggest clubs and players \u2014 which double as the sport\u2019s most marketable brands.<\/p>\n Currently, the vast majority of club soccer games, and therefore revenues \u2014 from broadcast rights, sponsorships and more \u2014 are controlled by domestic leagues, such as the English Premier League; and by continental confederations, namely UEFA, which runs the hugely profitable Champions League.<\/p>\n FIFA, meanwhile, makes billions off the World Cup, a quadrennial showpiece for national teams. But because the Champions League is an annual bonanza, UEFA\u2019s revenues are far greater. Those revenues trickle down to European clubs and national soccer federations, which use the money to recruit or produce players \u2014 and consolidate their supremacy.<\/p>\n So, FIFA created the Club World Cup, which, for the first time, could allow the global governing body to profit off those same clubs \u2014 and share some small percentage of the spoils with 200-plus national soccer federations around the world, rather than solely the European ones.<\/p>\n FIFA argues that this would be a noble redistribution of wealth<\/a>. Critics argue it’s a \u201ccash grab\u201d; part of a personal battle between Infantino and UEFA president Aleksander \u010ceferin; and a ploy to reinforce Infantino\u2019s political power \u2014 because the presidents of the 200-plus national soccer federations sharing the spoils double as FIFA\u2019s electorate.<\/p>\n UEFA and the top European leagues, meanwhile, have blasted<\/a> and resisted<\/a> Infantino\u2019s plan, because they want to keep all Real Madrid- or Manchester City-related revenue to themselves.<\/p>\n The players and their unions are. FIFPRO Europe, a branch of the global players\u2019 union, has called the Club World Cup a \u201ctipping point\u201d in the broader context of soccer\u2019s ever-congested calendar. They\u2019ve launched a legal claim<\/a> against FIFA, which \u201cunilaterally set\u201d the calendar, with space carved out for the Club World Cup. They argue<\/a> that, especially with the new tournament extending seasons by a month, players\u2019 bodies and brains are becoming overworked and overwhelmed.<\/p>\n The leagues, on the other hand, say they\u2019re concerned about workload; but really, they want to protect their market share. They already organize dozens of games per club every year; the Club World Cup will merely add a few games for a small handful of teams once every four years. The leagues want to preserve their primacy on the calendar.<\/p>\n Their problem is that FIFA controls both the Club World Cup and the calendar. So they, too, have gone to court<\/a> and attacked \u201cFIFA\u2019s conflict of interest.\u201d They\u2019ve argued to the European Commission that FIFA is abusing its position as both a commercially minded organizer and regulator of soccer. Their case, which many experts believe has merit, could muddy the future of this new tournament.<\/p>\n The vast majority of the 32 do \u2014 and hundreds of others worldwide would love to. (Mainstream European media have largely ignored non-European perspectives.)<\/p>\n A noisy minority, however, want to only if<\/em> they\u2019re well compensated.<\/p>\n Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti explained the dynamic in an interview<\/a> this past June \u2014 albeit with words he later walked back: “One single Real Madrid game is worth \u20ac20 million, and FIFA wants to give us that amount for the entire competition. \u2026 Just like us, other clubs will refuse the invitation.”<\/p>\n Real Madrid and the rest of the clubs have since said they\u2019re committed to the tournament. But behind the scenes, sources have told Yahoo Sports, they\u2019re demanding hefty sums of cash. The New York Times reported<\/a> last month that some want \u201csignificant eight-figure [appearance] fees in addition to prize money.\u201d<\/p>\n The question, then, for FIFA, has been: Where\u2019s that money coming from?<\/p>\n FIFA, anticipating immense interest in the Club World Cup, initially budgeted billions of dollars in revenue. But broadcasters and sponsors \u2014 the two main sources of potential income \u2014 were lukewarm. Negotiations with Apple collapsed. At the start of December, no television partners had been announced; and sponsors had only just begun to appear.<\/p>\n FIFA, by all accounts, will fall short of its target, leading many to wonder how it will fund the tournament<\/a> \u2014 and how much it will be able to pay the participating clubs.<\/p>\n Part of the answer came Wednesday, when FIFA announced that DAZN, a struggling sports streaming platform, would broadcast all 63 Club World Cup games to viewers around the world for free.<\/p>\n But the finances of that deal \u2014 and of the Club World Cup more broadly \u2014 remain murky. How much DAZN is paying for the tournament, whether Saudi Arabia is involved in the deal<\/a>, and whether the rights will be sublicensed to major TV networks in some countries is all unclear.<\/p>\n Two people familiar with the deal told Yahoo Sports that, in its entirety, it\u2019s worth around $1 billion. But in their press releases, FIFA and DAZN called the 2025 Club World Cup broadcast rights \u201cthe start of a broader partnership.\u201d It\u2019s unclear what portion of the roughly $1 billion is for the Club World Cup, and what portion might be for other rights that are part of a more extensive package. (Spokesmen for FIFA and DAZN both declined to comment on the speculation about potential Saudi involvement.)<\/p>\n For now, in the U.S., the answer is no \u2014 DAZN, a platform that very few U.S. sports fans use, will be the exclusive broadcaster, and the only place to watch games.<\/p>\n FIFA, though, mentioned in its news release \u201cthe possibility of sublicensing to local free-to-air linear broadcast networks.\u201d This means that, for example, Fox could pay FIFA and\/or DAZN to broadcast some of all of the 63 games.<\/p>\n If there is no such sublicensing, the DAZN deal will be disastrous for the visibility of the tournament in the U.S.<\/p>\n Nope.<\/p>\n Like for the 2026 World Cup<\/a>, you can \u201cregister interest<\/a>\u201d in tickets, but FIFA has not said when or how you\u2019ll be able to buy them.<\/p>\n It could be. In many ways, it should be. But with budgets reportedly slashed, and planning far behind schedule, most insiders expect the 2025 edition to be a mixed bag of vibrancy, mishaps, full stadiums and duds.<\/p>\n Even a mixed bag, though \u2014 in the absence of boycotts or legal interventions \u2014 should be enough to get the Club World Cup off the ground, and in position for success in 2029 and beyond.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
When is the 2025 Club World Cup?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Where is the 2025 Club World Cup?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u2022 Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina
\u2022 TQL Stadium in Cincinnati
\u2022 The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California
\u2022 Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida
\u2022 GEODIS Park in Nashville
\u2022 MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
\u2022 Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida
\u2022 Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida
\u2022 Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia
\u2022 Lumen Field in Seattle
\u2022 Audi Field in Washington<\/p>\nWhich teams are in the 2025 Club World Cup?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Why those teams, but not Barcelona, Liverpool and others? How did they qualify?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
When is the draw? And how can I watch it on TV?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How will the draw work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
What is the Club World Cup format?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How is the 2025 Club World Cup different from previous iterations?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Who are the favorites?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Will the non-European clubs be able to compete with Champions League giants?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
Will the European clubs send their best players?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
I\u2019ve heard the Club World Cup is all about money. Is that true?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Aren\u2019t they all concerned about player workload?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What about the clubs? Do they <\/strong>want<\/em><\/strong> to participate in the Club World Cup?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
How is FIFA funding the Club World Cup?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Will the 2025 Club World Cup be on TV?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What about tickets? Are they on sale yet?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
So, will the Club World Cup be a big deal?<\/strong><\/h2>\n