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By TIM REYNOLDS
FORT LAUDERDALE — Lionel Messi is heading to the Club World Cup next year.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced Saturday night that Inter Miami will play in the tournament, something that had been long expected given Messi’s enormous popularity around the world and how the tournament already planned on some matches in South Florida.
The event, which is set to be played every four years, includes 32 teams from FIFA’s six soccer confederations. Inter Miami will play in the tournament opener, scheduled for June 15, 2025 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
“I am proud to announce that as one of the best clubs in the world, you are deserved participants in the new FIFA Club World Cup 2025 as the host club representing the United States,” Infantino said in an on-field ceremony after Inter Miami broke Major League Soccer’s mark for most points in a regular season.
The tournament runs through July 13, with the final scheduled for New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium — also the site of the 2026 World Cup final. So far, the Club World Cup has drawn no major U.S. sponsors and there is not a media rights deal in place.
Other U.S. sites that will play host to the Club World Cup are Atlanta, Cincinnati, Nashville, Charlotte, Orlando, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington and Seattle.
Twelve teams from Europe will be included in the Club World Cup. They are Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Juventus, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto, Real Madrid and Salzburg.
Other teams that have qualified include Boca Juniors, Flamengo, Fluminense, Palmeiras and River Plate from South America; Leon, Monterrey, Pachuca and the Seattle Sounders from North America; Al Ahly, Esperance, Mamelodi Sundowns and Wydad from Africa; Al-Hilal, Al Ain, Ulsan and Urawa from Asia; and Auckland City from Oceania.
Inter Miami becomes the 31st team in the field. The last will be determined on Nov. 30 at the CONMEBOL Libertadores final in Buenos Aires. The tournament draw is in December.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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