The United States will host the first 32-team FIFA Club World Cup — which will have one club representing Oceania — when the new tournament format launches in 2025.
The FIFA council has chosen the United States as the inaugural hosts, saying the selection process “took into consideration the infrastructure and service requirements, as well as broader strategic objectives for the tournament.”
The tournament will take place in June/July 2025 with four groups of eight teams playing for the right to claim the title of the world’s champion club.
Oceania’s representative will be decided by the Oceania Football Confederation but will be based on club rankings from the OFC Champions League from 2022 to 2024.
Favourites for the slot are Auckland City who won the OFC title in 2022 and 2023 while results from 2024 will be taken into account.
From 2025, the FIFA Club World Cup will be held every four years, replacing the current tournament held annually but restricted to seven clubs.
As OFC Champions, Auckland City will play at the final tournament in its current guise when it’s held in Saudi Arabia in December.
READ: The clubs that will join Auckland City at the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia >>>>
However, FIFA might still run a separate annual tournament for clubs, for which a place would be open to an Oceania representative.
“This annual tournament will bring together the winners of each confederation’s premier club competition and will conclude with a final held at a neutral venue between the winner of the UEFA Champions League and the winner of intercontinental play-offs between the clubs representing the other confederations.”
Main photo: Last year’s FIFA Club World Cup was staged in Morocco where Auckland City represented OFC.
More football stories
