FIFA’s new 32-team Club World Cup will be held in the United States in 2025, the world football governing body announced on Friday.
FIFA announced in March that the revamped Club World Cup will be held every four years beginning in June 2025.
The FIFA Council unanimously selected the United States to host the first edition of the expanded format.
The United States will also host the Copa America in 2024, and they will co-host the World Cup in 2026 with Mexico and Canada.
The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be the pinnacle of elite professional men’s club football,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said.
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.
Confederation champions from 2021 to 2024 will be eligible to compete in the new Club World Cup, meaning Chelsea, Real Madrid, and last season’s Champions League winners Manchester City have qualified from Europe.
The current FIFA Club World Cup, an annual competition with seven teams, will be phased out after 2023.
FIFA has also agreed to postpone the start of the bidding process for the 2030 World Cup in order to conduct “additional consultation with all key stakeholders.”
The relevant bidding regulations will be presented for approval at the next FIFA Council meeting, due to take place in September/October 2023, with the bidding process to be officially launched thereafter,” it said.
The expected appointment of the host(s) by the FIFA Congress will also move from Q3 2024 to Q4 2024.
On May 17, 2024, the FIFA Congress will be held in Bangkok, Thailand.
FIFA also named Indonesia as the host of the Under-17 World Cup later this year, just three months after the Southeast Asian country was stripped of the Under-20 World Cup, which was held in Argentina at the time.
The decision to cancel the event in Indonesia was made after the country’s football federation canceled the draw because the governor of the predominantly Hindu island of Bali refused to host Israel’s team.
The tournament was awarded to Indonesia after Peru was stripped of its rights due to failure to meet infrastructure commitments.
The FIFA Council also decided to host the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia in 2024, while the Dominican Republic will host the Under-17 Women’s World Cup in the same year.
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