Teams participating in the 2025 Club World Cup will not be required to release players for international duty, per FIFA regulations released on Tuesday.
The policy is a departure from FIFA’s usual rules, which state that clubs must release players to their national teams during international windows.
The U.S. men’s national team could be among the teams most impacted by the new regulation. The newly expanded 32-team Club World Cup will take place in the United States between June 15 and July 13.
That timeframe lines up almost exactly with the 2025 Gold Cup, which will be held in the U.S. from June 14 to July 6.
The expanded Club World Cup is the brainchild of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, meaning the governing body has made the competition a priority. With clubs not required to release players for international duty, FIFA is hoping that the competition will see teams field their strongest sides.
That could present an issue for the USMNT. Chelsea, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund are among the teams qualified for the Club World Cup, putting the status of Gabriel Slonina, Caleb Wiley, Tim Weah, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna and Cole Campbell in doubt.
The situation could set up a tug-of-war between clubs and countries, with USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino undoubtedly keen to have a full-strength squad for one of his team’s biggest tests prior to the 2026 World Cup.
Per FIFA’s competition guidelines for the 2025 Club World Cup: “As an exception to article 1 paragraphs 1 and 2 of Annexe 1 to the RSTP, for the duration of the Competition, it is not mandatory for clubs participating in the Competition to release their registered players to the representative teams of the country for which those players are eligible to play.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, the obligation of clubs participating in the Competition to release their registered players for the international window from 2 to 10 June 2025 remains unaffected.”
The USMNT wouldn’t be the only nation affected by the rule change. Canada could also be without Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies, as well as Porto midfielder Stephen Eustáquio and Inter’s Tajon Buchanan.
Mexico, meanwhile, could also see several players miss the Gold Cup with three Liga MX teams qualifying for the Club World Cup: León, Pachuca and Monterrey. Seattle Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas could also be unavailable for El Tri.
Players have expressed frustration with FIFA “unilaterally” imposing the Club World Cup immediately after a long and grueling club season. Some have even suggested it is the tipping point ahead of a potential strike.
But the competition is moving forward as planned, with tournament regulations stating clubs must arrive three to five days before their first Club World Cup game. That would give players participating in the June 2-10 international window almost no rest before the tournament begins.
