Morocco To Host Next 'Club World Cup' In February 2023, While FIFA Also Launch Plans For 32-Team Club World Cup In 2025.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has revealed that the next Club World Cup will be hosted by Morocco, from February 1st to February 11th, 2023. 

Reports from the International press had informed that the tournament was going to be played in the United Arab Emirates, but the African country Morocco will host it instead.

The Atlas Lions of Morocco made history in the current Qatar World Cup when they became the first-ever African country to reach the semi-finals.

The North African nation having beaten Spain and Portugal in the knock-outs, is due to compete for third place play-off game against Croatia on Saturday evening after its 2-0 defeat by reigning champions France in the semi-finals. while Argentina and France are set to lock horns on Sunday in the 2022 World Cup final. 

Ahead of the CWC in 2023, English club side Chelsea are the current holders of the FIFA Club World Cup crown, having seen off Copa Libertadores winners Palmeiras in 2021.

Current European champions Real Madrid will battle to be crowned world champions for the eighth time in Morocco.

The other teams who have qualified alongside Real Madrid (Spain) at this stage are Flamengo (Brazil/ Copa Libertadores winners), Seattle Sounders (USA/ Concacaf), Auckland City (New Zealand/ Oceania) and Wydad Casablanca (Morocco/ Africa).

Meanwhile, Infantino also announced plans to reformat the Club World Cup to be like the current international World Cup and the  UEFA Champions League which would be expanded to 32 of “the best teams in the world” from 2025.

The Swiss-Italian football administrator of the world football's governing body, announced the plans on Friday morning, claiming there will also be a similar setup for a Women's Club World Cup.

The Club World Cup currently features just seven teams with the winners of each confederation’s most prestigious trophy (Champions League), competing for the global title, but the format will be tinkered with to bring it more in line with the international World Cup played in eight groups of four instead of the current knockout format of the CWC.

This comes just days after the European Super League (ESL) received a major ruling, which means they will not be able to host a new competition of their own.

Speaking to reporters, Infantino said, "The new men’s Club World Cup will take place in 2025 and will feature 32 teams, the best teams in the world. Of course, the details of that still need to be discussed and agreed, but the 32-team tournament will go ahead, making it really like a World Cup."

The new Club World Cup concept was initially meant to launch in China in 2021 with 24 teams but was cancelled due to the pandemic - and is now set for a further expansion from June 2025.

The change to the CWC calendar is part of FIFA's plan to increase their revenues from $7.5 billion (£6.149bn) in the current four-year cycle (2018-2022) to $11 billion (£9bn) in the next four years (2022-2026).

With the 32-team tournament set to add even more games to the already congested local leagues schedule, there will remain questions over whether player welfare is being put first.

It remains to be seen how exactly teams will qualify for the new Club World Cup compared to the current format, as there could be many as 64 games played out over the duration. it is expected that the biggest teams in Europe will have an easier route to qualification than most continents.