2025 CLUB WORLD CUP
28 teams already qualified for FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup with just four spaces to fill
UAE’s Al Ain will stake their place in next summer’s new FIFA ‘Mundial de Clubes’ expanded CWC as Asian champions.
Al Ain’s victory against Yokohama Marinos over the weekend in the Asian Champions League final second leg saw the Dubai based team seal their berth for the new Club World Cup to be held next year in the United States. With Hernán Crespo’s team bagging their spot, 28 have now locked in their place at the new FIFA tournament with just four places remaining.
European places have been completed with Real Madrid and Atlético qualifying from Spain with FC Barcelona missing out on the 50 million dollars qualifying prize. They will be joined by Chelsea and Manchester City, Inter, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund. Porto and Benfica are the Portugal representatives with PSG and Salzburg, from Austria completing the line-up.
Next week the last CONCACAF spot will be locked down as Pachuca face Columbus Crew in the Champions Cup and two CONMEBOL places still up for grabs.
The final place will be awarded to the host nation and as yet FIFA have yet to establish the mechanic on which MLS side will be involved in the 32-team tournament that has already seen dissent from player welfare quarters after both Fifpro and the World Leagues Association complained about the staging of yet another expanded football competition at the end of a long season.