The 2025 Club World Cup is a first-of-its-kind tournament that, in FIFA’s dreams, is precisely what its name suggests. It’s a 32-team extravaganza modeled after soccer’s actual World Cup, with one key difference: top professional clubs, such as Real Madrid — rather than national teams, such as Spain — are the contestants.
It is scheduled to begin June 15, 2025, in the United States. And when it does, to FIFA, it will be “innovative, inclusive, groundbreaking and truly global.” 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 — soccer’s equivalent of the New York Knicks or Kansas City Chiefs — from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
It is, in theory, a true world championship. But it’s also controversial. 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.
Now, though, puzzle pieces are squirming into place. Twelve U.S. stadiums have been chosen. A global broadcast deal with DAZN has been signed. The group-stage draw took place Thursday, Dec. 5, in Miami. The full schedule is expected shortly.
The Club World Cup, in other words, is happening. And the following is an attempt to explain it, beginning with the basics, then the complexities.
When is the 2025 Club World Cup?
The Club World Cup opens June 15, 2025, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
It concludes July 13 with the final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The full schedule — dates, locations, matchups, kickoff times — should be released soon.
Where is the 2025 Club World Cup?
The 12 U.S. venues set to host games are:
• Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
• Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina
• TQL Stadium in Cincinnati
• The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California
• Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida
• GEODIS Park in Nashville
• MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
• Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida
• Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida
• Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia
• Lumen Field in Seattle
• Audi Field in Washington
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).
FIFA also made this decision in coordination with CONCACAF, soccer’s North and Central American governing body, which will stage its continental championship, the Gold Cup, simultaneously and entirely west of the Mississippi River.
Which teams are in the 2025 Club World Cup?
The 32 clubs set to participate are …
Europe (12): Manchester City (England), Chelsea (England), Real Madrid (Spain), Atlético Madrid (Spain), Bayern Munich (Germany), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Juventus (Italy), Inter Milan (Italy), PSG (France), Benfica (Portugal), Porto (Portugal), RB Salzburg (Austria)
North America (5): Inter Miami (U.S.), Seattle Sounders (U.S.), Monterrey (Mexico), Pachuca (Mexico), León (Mexico)
South America (6): Flamengo (Brazil), Palmeiras (Brazil), Fluminense (Brazil), Botafogo (Brazil), River Plate (Argentina), Boca Juniors (Argentina)
Asia (4): Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Ulsan (South Korea), Urawa Reds (Japan), Al Ain (UAE)
Africa (4): Al Ahly (Egypt), Wydad (Morocco), Espérance (Tunisia), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
Oceania (1): Auckland City (New Zealand)
Why those teams, but not Barcelona, Liverpool and others? How did they qualify?
In 2023, FIFA allocated the Club World Cup’s 32 berths to Europe (12), South America (6), CONCACAF (4), Africa (4), Asia (4), Oceania (1) and the host nation (1).
To earn those berths, there were two qualification routes — one simple, one complicated.
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.
Beyond those champions, slots were filled by a results-based ranking system, but with a caveat: only the top two clubs from any given country could qualify via rankings.
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 Atlético Madrid — 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.
In South America, four different Brazilian clubs swept the Libertadores titles. Argentine giants Boca and River claimed the two additional seats at the table.
In Africa, Al Ahly won three of four Champions League titles, so Espérance and Mamelodi Sundowns joined them and Wydad in the field.
In CONCACAF, things were straightforward, with four distinct winners … except for the “host nation slot.” FIFA never said how a team could claim that slot — 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.
What is the Club World Cup format?
The Club World Cup will run just like past men’s World Cups, with the 32 teams divided into eight groups of four.
The top two in each group will advance to the Round of 16. From there, single-elimination games will decide a champion.
How is the 2025 Club World Cup different from previous iterations?
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).
That tournament has now morphed into the “FIFA Intercontinental Cup.” The 32-team quadrennial summer tournament that will launch in 2025, and that you’re reading about now, is distinct, and unconnected to the seven-team annual version — other than the “Club World Cup” name.
Who are the favorites?
The European giants, according to BetMGM.
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).
Who’s in which group?
A glitzy, bizarre, painfully long draw in Miami sorted the teams into the following eight group:
Group A: Palmeiras (Brazil), Porto (Portugal), Al Ahly (Egypt), Inter Miami (U.S.)
Group B: PSG (France), Atlético Madrid (Spain), Botafogo (Brazil), Seattle Sounders (U.S.)
Group C: Bayern Munich (Germany), Auckland City (New Zealand), Boca Juniors (Argentina), Benfica (Portugal)
Group D: Flamengo (Brazil), Espérance (Tunisia), Chelsea (England), León (Mexico)
Group E: River Plate (Argentina), Urawa Reds (Japan), Monterrey (Mexico), Inter Milan (Italy)
Group F: Fluminense (Brazil), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Ulsan (South Korea), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
Group G: Manchester City (England), Wydad (Morocco), Al Ain (UAE), Juventus (Italy)
Group H: Real Madrid (Spain), Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Pachuca (Mexico), RB Salzburg (Austria)
Will the non-European clubs be able to compete with Champions League giants?
That’s 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.
The assumption — based on rosters and salaries — 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, Palmeiras is +1900 to win the title — same as Dortmund and Juve. Al Hilal and Flamengo are +2500 — same as Porto and Benfica.
There are several indexes 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’s power rankings, which include over 13,000 clubs, rate the 32 Club World Cup contestants as follows:
(Opta global rank and rating in parentheses, as of Dec. 2)
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Inter Milan (2, 98.9)
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Manchester City (3, 98.4)
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Real Madrid (5, 97.4)
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Bayern Munich (8, 95.7)
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PSG (9, 95.7)
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Chelsea (12, 94.5)
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Juventus (13, 94.2)
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Atlético Madrid (14, 93.6)
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Borussia Dortmund (20, 92.4)
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Benfica (21, 92.4)
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Porto (26, 91.3)
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Al Hilal (30, 90.7)
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Botafogo (55, 87.9)
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Palmeiras (58, 87.4)
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Flamengo (68, 86.4)
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River Plate (99, 84.8)
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Al Ahly (106, 84.5)
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Inter Miami (113, 84.2)
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Seattle Sounders (143, 83.2)
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Monterrey (144, 83.2)
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RB Salzburg (150, 83.0)
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Boca Juniors (160, 82.5)
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Fluminense (166, 82.5)
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Mamelodi Sundowns (220, 80.8)
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Espérance (324, 78.8)
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Ulsan (361, 78.4)
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Pachuca (375, 78.2)
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Urawa Reds (389, 77.9)
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León (400, 77.8)
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Wydad (565, 75.8)
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Al Ain (678, 74.7)
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Auckland City (4082, 59.0)
Will the European clubs send their best players?
Probably. In fact, FIFA’s published Club World Cup regulations state that all participating clubs must “field their strongest team throughout the competition.”
But there are questions around how “strongest team” 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’t 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.
I’ve heard the Club World Cup is all about money. Is that true?
Sort of — to the extent that all of modern sport is about money.
The Club World Cup is FIFA’s attempt to monetize soccer’s biggest clubs and players — which double as the sport’s most marketable brands.
Currently, the vast majority of club soccer games, and therefore revenues — from broadcast rights, sponsorships and more — are controlled by domestic leagues, such as the English Premier League; and by continental confederations, namely UEFA, which runs the hugely profitable Champions League.
FIFA, meanwhile, makes billions off the World Cup, a quadrennial showpiece for national teams. But because the Champions League is an annual bonanza, UEFA’s revenues are far greater. Those revenues trickle down to European clubs and national soccer federations, which use the money to recruit or produce players — and consolidate their supremacy.
So, FIFA created the Club World Cup, which, for the first time, could allow the global governing body to profit off those same clubs — and share some small percentage of the spoils with 200-plus national soccer federations around the world, rather than solely the European ones.
FIFA argues that this would be a noble redistribution of wealth. Critics argue it’s a “cash grab”; part of a personal battle between Infantino and UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin; and a ploy to reinforce Infantino’s political power — because the presidents of the 200-plus national soccer federations sharing the spoils double as FIFA’s electorate.
UEFA and the top European leagues, meanwhile, have blasted and resisted Infantino’s plan, because they want to keep all Real Madrid- or Manchester City-related revenue to themselves.
Aren’t they all concerned about player workload?
The players and their unions are. FIFPRO Europe, a branch of the global players’ union, has called the Club World Cup a “tipping point” in the broader context of soccer’s ever-congested calendar. They’ve launched a legal claim against FIFA, which “unilaterally set” the calendar, with space carved out for the Club World Cup. They argue that, especially with the new tournament extending seasons by a month, players’ bodies and brains are becoming overworked and overwhelmed.
The leagues, on the other hand, say they’re 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.
Their problem is that FIFA controls both the Club World Cup and the calendar. So they, too, have gone to court and attacked “FIFA’s conflict of interest.” They’ve 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.
What about the clubs? Do they want to participate in the Club World Cup?
The vast majority of the 32 do — and hundreds of others worldwide would love to. (Mainstream European media have largely ignored non-European perspectives.)
A noisy minority, however, want to only if they’re well compensated.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti explained the dynamic in an interview this past June — albeit with words he later walked back: “One single Real Madrid game is worth €20 million, and FIFA wants to give us that amount for the entire competition. … Just like us, other clubs will refuse the invitation.”
Real Madrid and the rest of the clubs have since said they’re committed to the tournament. But behind the scenes, sources have told Yahoo Sports, they’re demanding hefty sums of cash. The New York Times reported last month that some want “significant eight-figure [appearance] fees in addition to prize money.”
The question, then, for FIFA, has been: Where’s that money coming from?
How is FIFA funding the Club World Cup?
FIFA, anticipating immense interest in the Club World Cup, initially budgeted billions of dollars in revenue. But broadcasters and sponsors — the two main sources of potential income — 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.
FIFA, by all accounts, will fall short of its target, leading many to wonder how it will fund the tournament — and how much it will be able to pay the participating clubs.
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.
But the finances of that deal — and of the Club World Cup more broadly — remain murky. How much DAZN is paying for the tournament, whether Saudi Arabia is involved in the deal, and whether the rights will be sublicensed to major TV networks in some countries is all unclear.
Two people familiar with the deal told Yahoo Sports that, in its entirety, it’s worth around $1 billion. But in their press releases, FIFA and DAZN called the 2025 Club World Cup broadcast rights “the start of a broader partnership.” It’s 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.)
Will the 2025 Club World Cup be on TV?
For now, in the U.S., the answer is no — DAZN, a platform that very few U.S. sports fans use, will be the exclusive broadcaster, and the only place to watch games.
FIFA, though, mentioned in its news release “the possibility of sublicensing to local free-to-air linear broadcast networks.” This means that, for example, Fox could pay FIFA and/or DAZN to broadcast some of all of the 63 games.
If there is no such sublicensing, the DAZN deal will be disastrous for the visibility of the tournament in the U.S.
What about tickets? Are they on sale yet?
Nope.
Like for the 2026 World Cup, you can “register interest” in tickets, but FIFA has not said when or how you’ll be able to buy them.
So, will the Club World Cup be a big deal?
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.
Even a mixed bag, though — in the absence of boycotts or legal interventions — should be enough to get the Club World Cup off the ground, and in position for success in 2029 and beyond.
