FIFA has reimagined the Club World Cup for 2025 to make it a marquee event in the global soccer calendar. Thirty-two teams from across the continents will compete for the title of world champions. The record $100m prize fund for the winner dwarfs even the Champions League pot, so there’s a whole lot worth fighting for. But first, to whet all our appetites, comes the draw. All eyes will be on this event to see which clubs will be pitted against each other in what should be a hugely entertaining battle royale.
In this guide, we’ll provide you with everything you need to know to enjoy the draw to the max— including where to watch, when to watch and how to get the best out of the experience.
The Cup World Cup draw takes place on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 1:00 pm Miami local time (EST). Here’s what that schedule looks like all around the world. Fans in China, Japan and Australia, brace will have to brace themselves for either a late night or a very early start on Friday, Dec. 6. Make sure you don’t miss it by placing the event in your calendar or turning on notifications for FIFA+ or the DAZN app.
The great news is the Club World Cup draw—like the Cup itself—will be free to view. You can watch the draw live on the FIFA website, YouTube channel or FIFA+ app. You can also watch without charge on DAZN, but to do this, you will need to set up a free account first.
The one thing we already know is that the opening game will be held at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium on June 15. Lionel Messi's Inter Miami will kick off the tournament, but who they face will be one of the exciting moments revealed during the draw.
There will be 32 clubs participating, including Real Madrid, PSG, Boca Juniors, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and many more. They qualified for the tournament either by winning their continental title, such as the Champions League or Copa Libertadores, or by delivering a consistently high level of performance in one of the last four seasons.
The Cup will feature eight groups, which will be made up of one team from each of the four pots.
Here’s how the four Pots are determined:
So here’s what that looks like in practice for the 2025 Club World Cup draw:
There are a few rules in place that will further impact the draw. No group can feature more than one team from the same confederation. That is, apart from UEFA, which will have 12 teams in the draw, so four of the eight groups will contain two European clubs.
To keep the competition as juicy as possible, there's also a ‘paired seeding’ rule to keep the top seeds on opposite sides of the draw. This ensures Real Madrid and Manchester City cannot play each other until the semi-finals. This also applies to Bayern Munich and Pars Saint-German as well as River Plate and Flamengo. Every team from Pot 1 will automatically be allocated the first position in the group they are drawn. Meanwhile, Inter Miami and Seattle Sounders—the two US teams—will be automatically allocated fourth spot in Groups A and B.
To achieve this, the following pathways have been created:
If you can’t watch the draw, you won’t have to miss the fun. There are a number of ways you can follow the event live:
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Matt Weiner has written about soccer for The Times, CNN and Goal. The former FourFourTwo Deputy Editor still daydreams about the day he actually scored at The Emirates.
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