The FIFA Council announced on Friday that the United States will host the 2025 Club World Cup. It will also be the first time that a FIFA tournament has 32 teams competing for the top prize. (More Football Team)
As the recent Champions League winners, Manchester City, along with Real Madrid and Chelsea, have booked their place in the tournament, which will be played before the 2026 Men's World Cup.
The United States, Canada and Mexico were already awarded the hosting rights for the World Cup.
FIFA said that United States' positive reputation in staging global events was one of the reasons behind the country receiving hosting rights for the Club World Cup.
In March, FIFA said that the pathway to winning a berth for clubs in the tournament was to win a continental championship in any of the four years from 2021 to 2024 in the confederations of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America.
The 2025 extended version of the Club World Cup is also a good opportunity for football's governing body to find new broadcasters and sponsorship deals for future events.
The new format of the Club World Cup, which would last for about three weeks, is yet to be decided. One of the options is to divide teams into eight groups of four, with each team playing three matches. Then, the eight group winners could compete in the quarterfinals.
Other teams that have qualified for the 2025 FIFA tournament include Palmeiras (Brazil), Flamengo (Brazil), Monterrey (Mexico), Leon (Mexico), Al-Ahly (Egypt), Wydad Casablanca (Morocco), Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan) and Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia).
