FIFA has announced that the United States will host the highly anticipated 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which will feature an expanded format with 32 teams.
Currently, the Club World Cup consists of eight teams, including the champions from each continent and the national champion of the host country.
However, FIFA has decided to revamp the tournament, aiming to make it akin to a World Cup.
In a statement released on Friday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino expressed his excitement for the upcoming event, describing it as the “pinnacle of elite professional men’s club football.”
With the United States possessing the necessary infrastructure and generating massive local interest, it has been chosen as the ideal host for this global spectacle.
Infantino also emphasised the significance of the tournament in FIFA’s mission to expand the reach of football worldwide, as fans from every corner of the globe will bring their passion and energy to the United States in two years.
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Several prominent clubs have already secured their spots in the competition.
Europe has been allocated 12 spots, with four of them reserved for Champions League winners leading up to 2025.
Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Manchester City have earned places by triumphing in the Champions League in recent seasons.
Africa, on the other hand, has been granted four slots, two of which have been secured by Al Ahly and Wydad AC, the winners of the CAF Champions League.
Another team that could potentially make it to the tournament is Enyimba International FC, Nigeria’s most successful club.
Enyimba’s triumph in the Nigerian Professional Football League earlier this month secured their qualification for the CAF Champions League. Should they win that tournament, they will join Al Ahly and Wydad AC as Africa’s representatives at the FIFA Club World Cup.
Interestingly, Enyimba are the only Nigerian club to have won the Champions League, accomplishing the feat in consecutive years, 2003 and 2004.
Led by former Super Eagles winger George Finidi, Enyimba will be driven to claim a third continental title, as it would grant them the opportunity to compete against the world’s biggest clubs at the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup.
The tournament will take place every four years.
The exact dates, venues, and schedule for the event have yet to be confirmed by FIFA.