The preliminary round groups for the reformed Club World Cup will be drawn today in Miami. blue Sport answers the most important questions about the new competition.
05.12.2024, 16:00
05.12.2024, 22:48
dpa
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- The new Club World Cup will take place for the first time in the summer of 2025.
- It is a lucrative competition for the 32 participants, with the entry fee alone amounting to 50 million euros.
- The Club World Cup has been criticized, among other things because of the strain on players, the imbalance in the leagues and the competition with women's football.
The Club World Cup, newly organized by FIFA, will take place for the first time next summer. These are the most important questions and answers about the event.
When and where will the Club World Cup take place?
From June 15 to July 23, 2025, the tournament will be held in the USA and is regarded as the country's dress rehearsal for the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
The 63 matches will be played at twelve venues in the USA, with the opening match taking place in Miami and the final in New Jersey.
What are the financial incentives?
There's a lot of money involved. According to reports, the clubs will receive at least 50 million US dollars just for taking part. Organizer FIFA expects revenues of "a few billion", as the "Sportschau" calculates.
Who can play?
It's a bit complicated. In principle, only two teams per country are allowed to take part. Unless several clubs from one country have won the Champions League (or the equivalent on the other continents).
The following teams are taking part:
Europe (12 places)
The winners of the Champions League 2021 to 2024 Chelsea FC (2021), Real Madrid (2022 and 2024) and Manchester City (2023). Nine places remain for the best teams in the European four-year ranking. If two teams from one country are already there, only teams from other European leagues may qualify.
For example: Liverpool are ranked eighth in the club rankings, but are not allowed to take part because two English Champions League winners from the last four years, Chelsea and Manchester City, already occupy these places.
The participants from Europe are therefore:
England: Manchester City, Chelsea FC
Germany: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund
Italy: Inter Milan, Juventus Turin
Spain: Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid
France: Paris Saint-Germain
Portugal: FC Porto, Benfica Lisbon
Austria: Red Bull Salzburg
South America (6 places)
Because four different Brazilian clubs won the Copa Libertadores between 2021 and 2024, all four are taking part in the Club World Cup. These are SE Palmeiras, CR Flamengo, FC Fluminense and Botafogo FR. River Plate and Boca Juniors will also make it to the tournament via the South American ranking.
Asia (4 places)
Asian Champions League winners: Al Ain (United Arab Emirates), Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan).
Asian ranking: Ulsan HD (South Korea)
Africa (4 places)
Champions League winners: Al Ahly (Egypt), Wydad Casablanca (Morocco)
African ranking: Espérance de Tunis (Tunisia), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa).
North/Central America and Caribbean (4 places)
Champions Cup winners: CF Monterrey (Mexico), Pachuca (Mexico), Club Leon (Mexico), Seattle Sounders (USA).
Oceania (1 place)
Oceania ranking: Auckland City (New Zealand).
Host USA (1 place)
Inter Miami were awarded the place for the host country by FIFA. This was because Inter Miami scored the most points in the regular MLS season (before the playoffs) and thus won the Supporters' Shield.
FIFA only announced that the winner of the Supporters' Shield and not the champion would be allowed to take part in the Club World Cup once Inter Miami had been crowned the winner. The fact that Lionel Messi is under contract with Inter Miami is likely to have been one of the main reasons for this and probably suits FIFA President Gianni Infantino very well for marketing reasons.
What format will be used?
The game will be played in the World Cup format for national teams. The two best clubs from each of the eight preliminary groups advance to the knockout round. The draw is being made accordingly: the 32 participants have been divided into four pots of eight teams each. Teams from the same country cannot meet in the group stage.
The draw pots
- Pot 1
Real Madrid (Spain), Manchester City (England), FC Bayern Munich (Germany), Paris Saint-Germain (France), Fluminense (Brazil), Palmeiras (Brazil), Flamengo (Brazil), River Plate (Argentina) - Pot 2
Chelsea FC (England), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Inter Milan (Italy), FC Porto (Portugal), Atlético Madrid (Spain), Benfica Lisbon (Portugal), Juventus Turin (Italy), Red Bull Salzburg (Austria) - Pot 3
Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Ulsan HD (South Korea), Al Ahly FC (Egypt), Wydad AC (Morocco), CF Monterrey (Mexico), Club León (Mexico), CA Boca Juniors (Argentina), Botafogo (Brazil) - Pot 4
Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan), Al-Ain FC (United Arab Emirates), Esperance Tunis (Tunisia), Mamelodi Sundowns FC (South Africa), CF Pachuca (Mexico), Seattle Sounders FC (USA), Auckland City FC (New Zealand), Inter Miami (USA)
When will the draw take place?
On Thursday, December 5 at 7 p.m. (Swiss time) in Miami. You can watch the draw on fifa.com.
Who has problems with the Club World Cup?
The Club World Cup has come in for a lot of criticism, and there are several reasons for this:
- The players now have to play in a tournament in a summer when there is no World Cup or European Championship. This increases the already heavy workload even more.
- The Club World Cup competes with women's football. This is because the European Women's Championship will take place in Switzerland from July 2. The Club World Cup will attract a lot of attention.
- In the national leagues, the gap between the top teams and the rest will widen even further. The participants will already receive 50 million euros in entry fees alone. This will make the successful clubs even richer, while the others will lose out.
Where can you watch the Club World Cup?
The internet channel DAZN will broadcast all matches exclusively and worldwide live and free of charge for viewers, as DAZN and FIFA announced on Wednesday. A paid subscription is not necessary, just an account. The channel will also broadcast the draw.
(with material from the news agency DPA)
