Club World Cup 2025: Tournament Preview

This June 15 marks the beginning of a new edition of the Club World Cup, which was first held in 2000. However, in 2025, the tournament debuts a new format.

A total of 32 teams from the six Confederations will compete from June 14 to July 13 in various cities across the United States, bringing the tournament back to the Americas for the first time since the inaugural edition in Brazil.

Club World Cup Tournament Format

The 32 teams are divided into eight groups of four. Each team plays three matches in the group stage, and the top two from each group advance to the Round of 16, where knockout stages begin. Only UEFA teams can be drawn from the same group (maximum two clubs).

This tournament was initially planned for 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed it until 2025. The idea is for this tournament to be played every four years, similar to the FIFA World Cup.

Equipes Qualificadas

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is the Confederation with the most slots, with 12 teams, followed by The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) with six. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC,) the Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF), and the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) each have four. While the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and the host country (United States of America) each have one.

For all confederations except the OFC, the continental champions from their main tournament over the past four years earned qualification. UEFA and CONMEBOL filled their remaining slots based on a club ranking from the last four years, selecting the top-ranked clubs that hadn’t already qualified by winning a continental title.

For the OFC, the best-ranked club among those who won the OFC Champions League between 2021 and 2024 was chosen. The United States, as the host country, awarded its spot to the MLS Supporters’ Shield winner —the best regular season team in Major League Soccer 2024.

A two-club limit per national association was applied, with exceptions when more than two clubs from the same association won their continental championship, as was the case with Brazil. If a team won its continental title twice in the period (like Real Madrid), one of those slots was converted into a ranking-based spot.

In CONCACAF’s case, FIFA rules prevented multiple clubs with the same ownership from participating. Pachuca and Club León, both owned by Grupo Pachuca, were affected. After a legal battle, Club León was removed, and a playoff was held between LAFC (runner-up in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League, won by León) and Club America (highest-ranked team in the FIFA Club World Cup confederation ranking after the 2024 Concachampions). LAFC won 2–1.

Club World Cup Teams by Confederation

Venues

The tournament will be played in 12 stadiums across 11 U.S. cities. Orlando is the only city with two venues, and Florida has three, including Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.

The opening match will be held at the Hard Rock Stadium, with host club Inter Miami facing Al-Ahly of Egypt. The final will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, home to the NFL’s New York Giants and Jets.

História

The first Club World Cup was held in 2000, intended to replace the old Intercontinental Cup (played between the Copa Libertadores and UEFA Champions League winners). It took place in Brazil, with each continental Champion, plus Corinthians (Brazilian league champion) and Real Madrid (1998 Intercontinental Cup champion) as a guest. Corinthians won that inaugural tournament.

That first edition featured eight teams split into two groups of four. The group winners advanced to the final, and the runners-up played for third place.

The tournament returned in 2005, after the last Intercontinental Cup in 2004. Initially, it featured only continental champions, but in 2007, the host nation’s league champion was added.

The traditional format was single-elimination, with UEFA and CONMEBOL champions entering directly into the semifinals and avoiding each other until the final. From 2007 onward, the host nation’s team played a preliminary round match against the OFC champion.

Prize Money

The 2025 Mundial de Clubes will distribute USD 1 billion among the 32 participating teams. Of that:

$525 million will be awarded just for participation, based on Confederation:

The remaining $475 million will be awarded based on performance, with bonuses for winning, drawing, and advancing in the knockout rounds.

The tournament winner could earn up to $125 million, especially if it’s a top European team with high commercial value.

Club World Cup Past Champions

The most recent Champion is Manchester City, who defeated Fluminense 4–0 in the 2023 final.

European clubs have won the last 11 titles, with Corinthians (Brazil) in 2012 being the previous non-European Champion after defeating Chelsea 1–0.

In total, UEFA clubs have won 16 titles, while CONMEBOL clubs have won 4.