United States To Host The First 32-team FIFA Club World Cup in 2025, With Chelsea, Real Madrid and Man City Already Qualified.

The first edition of FIFA's new 32-team Club World Cup will be held in the United States in 2025, the world football's governing body has confirmed.

This is not the only international tournament the United States will be hosting, as they are also set to host the 2024 Copa America, and also a co-host of the 2026 World Cup along with Mexico and Canada.

FIFA announced the host for its expanded tournament on Friday and said the selection process took into account “infrastructure and service requirements, as well as broader strategic objectives for the tournament”.

It added that the decision would provide “synergy” and help grow the game in North America ahead of the 2026 men’s World Cup, which will take place across the US, Canada and Mexico.

President Gianni Infantino said on Friday: “The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be the pinnacle of elite professional men’s club football, and with the required infrastructure in place together with a massive local interest, the United States is the ideal host to kick off this new, global tournament.

“With some of the world’s top clubs already qualified, fans from every continent will be bringing their passion and energy to the United States in two years’ time for this significant milestone in our mission to make football truly global.”

The current Club World Cup format involves seven teams which includes the winner of each continent competition plus the hosts’ national champion, competing for the title.

But FIFA announced plans in December that the participating teams for the Club World Cup, would be increased to a 32-team version, with Ifantino declaring that it would be “like a World Cup”.

The governing body also confirmed that the revamped Club World Cup will be played every four years from June 2025. The FIFA Council unanimously appointed the United States as the competition's hosts for the first edition of the expanded format.

The full dates, venues and schedule have yet to be confirmed.

Spanish giants Real Madrid are the current champions having lifted the trophy for a record fifth time with a pulsating 5-3 win over Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco on February 11, 2023. 

Europe has 12 allocation of the 32 places, four of them for Champions League winners in each of the four years leading up to 2025.

As it stands, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City have already secured places at the new tournament after winning the Champions League in recent seasons.

Chelsea, get in as the 2021 winner of the UCL. Real Madrid get in as the 2022 winners. There’s the 2023 winners Man City, and a 2024 winner.

The remaining eight teams, will just come from the European coefficient rankings and there’s a limit of two per country.

In the event of a club winning two or more editions of the confederation’s premier club competition during the 2021-2024 period, FIFA says a club ranking calculated according to sporting criteria will be used to grant access.