FIFA Club World Cup
2025 FIFA Club World Cup draw: date, time, teams, format, pots, procedure
Everything you need to know about the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup draw, which takes place on Thursday, December 5.
The draw for the much-criticised 2025 FIFA Club World Cup takes place in Miami on Thursday (December 5) at 1:00 p.m ET, with Botafogo joining the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City in the 32-team lineup after winning the Copa Libertadores last weekend.
An official broadcast partner has yet to be announced for the tournament, although FIFA is slowly beginning to attract sponsors, with Bank of America joining Budweiser brewer InBev and appliance manufacturer Hisense in backing the event.
2025 FIFA Club World Cup dates and venues
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is due to begin on June 15 next year, with the final scheduled for July 13. The United States will be the sold host country, with the action taking place at the following 12 venues:
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta, Georgia
- TQL Stadium - Cincinnati, Ohio
- Hard Rock Stadium - Miami, Florida
- Geodis Park - Nashville, Tennessee
- MetLife Stadium - New York-New Jersey
- Bank of America Stadium - Charlotte, North Carolina
- Camping World Stadium - Orlando, Florida
- Inter&Co Stadium - Orlando, Florida
- Rose Bowl Stadium - Los Angeles, California
- Lincoln Financial Field - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Lumen Field - Seattle, Washington
- Audi Field - Washington, D.C.
Which teams are playing in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup?
As mentioned, Botafogo were the last of the 32 teams to book their spot in the competition by virtue of their Copa Libertadores victory at the weekend. Ahead of the draw, the participants have now been drawn into four pots as follows:
Pot 1
the four highest-ranked teams from UEFA (UEFA 1-4)
the four highest-ranked teams from CONMEBOL (CONMEBOL 1-4)
Pot 2
the remaining eight teams from UEFA (UEFA 5-12)
Pot 3
the two highest-ranked teams from the AFC (AFC 1-2)
the two highest-ranked teams from CAF (CAF 1-2)
the two highest-ranked teams from Concacaf (Concacaf 1-2)
the remaining two teams from CONMEBOL (CONMEBOL 5-6)
Pot 4
the remaining two teams from the AFC (AFC 3-4)
the remaining two teams from CAF (CAF 3-4)
the remaining two teams from Concacaf (Concacaf 3-4)
the team from the OFC (OFC 1)
the team from the host country (Host 1)
This is how that works out for the tournament:
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City (ENG) | Chelsea (ENG) | Al Hilal (KSA) | Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN) |
| Real Madrid (ESP) | Borussia Dortmund (GER) | Ulsan HD (KOR) | Al Ain (UAE) |
| Bayern Munich (GER) | Inter Milan (ITA) | Al Ahly (EGY) | Espérance (TUN) |
| PSG (FRA) | Porto (POR) | Wydad AC (MAR) | Mamelodi Sundowns (RSA) |
| Flamengo (BRA) | Atlético Madrid (ESP) | Monterrey (MEX) | Pachuca (MEX) |
| Palmeiras (BRA) | Benfica (POR) | Club Léon (MEX) | Seattle Sounders (USA) |
| River Plate (ARG) | Juventus (ITA) | Boca Juniors (ARG) | Auckland City (NZL) |
| Fluminense (BRA) | Salzburg (AUT) | Botafogo (BRA) | Inter Miami (USA) |
2025 FIFA Club World Cup format
The 32 teams will be split into eight groups of four teams, as has been the case in the FIFA World Cup (for national teams) until the format change for the next event in 2026.
Each team will play three group games, with the top two teams progressing to the round of 16. In the group stage, teams are awarded three points for a win and one for a draw.
Group winners will face group runners-up in the round of 16. Matches that are tied in the knockout rounds will go to extra time (two periods of 15 minutes) and then a penalty shootout if necessary.
2025 FIFA Club World Cup draw procedure
The draw will begin by allocating teams from Pot 1 into the eight different groups, followed by Pot 2, then Pot 3 and, finally, Pot 4. For scheduling purposes, however, we already know that the teams from the host country, Inter Miami and Seattle Sounders, will take position 4 in Group A and B respectively.
Lionel Messi’s Herons will take part in the opening game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on June 15.
The other important factors to consider are that teams from the same country can’t be drawn against each other in the group stage. Additionally, each group will contain only one team from the same confederation, “whenever possible,” with the exception of UEFA, which supplies 12 of the 32 participants. Four of the eight groups will have one European team, with the other four having two.
The draw begins at 1:00 p.m. ET on Thursday (December 5) and you can follow live coverage, starting a little before then, right here on AS USA.
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