If you thought you were going to enjoy a summer of respite in 2025, think again! The bigger and (potentially) better FIFA Club World Cup will be slapping you in the face from all angles.
The incessant stream of club football will not cease beyond the closure of the 2024/25 campaigns across the globe. In a bid to rejuvenate what has long been deemed in European quarters as a fairly insignificant event, FIFA has expanded their Club World Cup to 32 teams with the world's best outfits from competing for the right to earn 'world champion' status.
However, whether the "world's best" will be competing in the USA next summer is another matter. Multiple clubs bound for stellar 2024/25 seasons aren't among the teams involved in the 2025 Club World Cup.
So, how did teams qualify for the expanded tournament? 90min breaks FIFA's process down.
All six federations will be represented at the 2025 Club World Cup, but each boasts a different number of slots for the tournament. UEFA have the most with 12 teams competing, CONMEBOL has six, while AFC, CAF, and CONCACAF each have four. OFC have just one, and the final spot was designated to a host country representative.
For the 2025 tournament, FIFA took into account performances over the past four seasons in the confederation's respective premier club competitions – the UEFA Champions League, for example.
Any continental champion since 2021 (in confederations with four or more slots) automatically qualified for the tournament, while other teams progressed via FIFA's ranking pathway.
In all federations excluding UEFA, teams were awarded three points for a win in their respective premier club competitions, a point for a draw, and three points for progressing into the next stage.
The system was a little different for European clubs competing in the Champions League. FIFA, as part of their qualification criteria, instead handed out two points for a win, one for a draw, four for group-stage qualification, five for progression into the round of 16, and one point for progression into each stage of the competition thereafter.
Those who amassed the most ranking points within each federation qualified for the 2025 Club World Cup. As UEFA had 12 available slots and only three different Champions League winners since 2021, nine teams qualified via ranking. CONMEBOL, meanwhile, had six slots and four different Copa Libertadores winners, so only two ranking spots were available.
There are few qualifying restrictions imposed for the expanded Club World Cup, but only a maximum of two clubs from the same country can make it through via the ranking pathway.
This restriction excludes those to qualify by winning the confederation’s premier club competition over the four-year period. Four Brazilian teams have won the previous four Copa Libertadores titles, for example, and all four have qualified for the tournament.
Club
Nation
Method of qualification
Chelsea
England
2020/21 UEFA Champions League winners
Real Madrid
Spain
2021/22 and 2023/24 UEFA Champions League winners
Manchester City
England
2022/23 UEFA Champions League winners
Palmeiras
Brazil
2021 Copa Libertadores winners
Flamengo
Brazil
2022 Copa Libertadores winners
Fluminense
Brazil
2023 Copa Libertadores winners
Botafogo
Brazil
2024 Copa Libertadores winners
Monterrey
Mexico
2021 CONCACAF Champions Cup winners
Seattle Sounders
USA
2022 CONCACAF Champions Cup winners
Leon
Mexico
2023 CONCACAF Champions Cup winners
Pachuca
Mexico
2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup winners
Al Ahly
Egypt
2020/21, 2022/23 and 2023/24 CAF Champions League winners
Wydad AC
Morocco
2021/22 CAF Champions League winners
Al Hilal
Saudi Arabia
2021 AFC Champions League winners
Urawa Red Diamonds
Japan
2022 AFC Champions League winners
Al Ain
United Arab Emirates
2023/24 AFC Champions League winners
Club
Nation
Bayern Munich
Germany
Paris Saint-Germain
France
Inter
Italy
Porto
Portugal
Benfica
Portugal
Borussia Dortmund
Germany
Juventus
Italy
Borussia Dortmund
Germany
Atletico Madrid
Spain
RB Salzburg
Austria
Auckland City
New Zealand
Ulsan HD
South Korea
ES Tunis
Tunisia
Mamelodi Sundowns
South Africa
Boca Juniors
Argentina
River Plate
Argentina
Club
Nation
Inter Miami
USA
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