Chelsea, Real Madrid And Seattle Sounders Have Already Qualified For First 32-Team FIFA Club World Cup... But Who Will Take The Other 29 Spots?
FIFA has confirmed that the first edition of its expanded 32-team Club World Cup will take place in 2025.
Twelve of the teams will come from Europe, plus six from South America. Meanwhile, North America, Asia and Africa will each be represented by four clubs.
The Oceania Football Confederation will provide one club, while the final team will come from the host nation.
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will be a 32-team event
IMAGO/AFLOSPORT
Chelsea, Real Madrid, Seattle Sounders, Monterrey, Palmeiras, Flamengo, Al-Hilal, Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca are already guaranteed a place at the 2025 Club World Cup.
But how did they get there and how will the other 23 places be filled?
How To Qualify For 2025 FIFA Club World Cup
Europe (UEFA): 12
Winning the UEFA Champions League will guarantee qualification for the Club World Cup.
Chelsea and Real Madrid have already qualified after winning the UCL in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
They will be joined in the 2025 Club World Cup by the European champions of 2023 and 2024.
The other eight European teams will be selected using FIFA's coefficient rankings, which are based on their performances in international competitions over the previous four seasons.
The top European teams based on their coefficients right now are Real Madrid and Manchester City.
City are therefore highly likely to qualify for the 2025 Club World Cup even if they fail to win the Champions League.
However, a cap of two clubs per country will be enforced unless that country has had more than two Champions League winners during the qualifying period.
So for example, if Liverpool were to win this season's Champions League then City would not be able to qualify based on their coefficient (because England would already have two qualified teams - in Chelsea and Liverpool). In this scenario, City would need to win next season's Champions League in order to qualify for the 2025 Club World Cup as England's third team.
Chelsea, who won the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, have already qualified for the 2025 tournament
IMAGO/Action Plus
South America (CONMEBOL): 6
The process for South America is the same as Europe but with just two qualifying spots based on coefficient, rather than eight.
Palmeiras and Flamengo are already in, having won the Copa Libertadores in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
North America (CONCACAF): 4
CONCACAF has four places to fill and all four are expected to go to Champions League winners.
Monterrey and Seattle Sounders have qualified already. They will be joined by whoever wins the CONCACAF Champions League in 2023 and 2024.
If Monterrey or Seattle win the Champions League again in 2023 or 2024 then CONCACAF's fourth spot will be decided by the FIFA coefficient ranking system.
Seattle Sounders won the CONCACAF Champions League in 2022
IMAGO/Icon SMI
Africa (CAF): 4
Like CONCACAF, CAF also has just four places and will fill them with whoever wins the African version of the Champions League.
Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca were African champions in 2021 and 2022 respectively, so they will play at the 2025 Club World Cup for sure.
Asia (AFC): 4
Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal qualified by winning the AFC Champions League in 2021.
The Champions League winners of 2022/23 and 2023/24 will also be rewarded with a Club World Cup place.
Asia's fourth spot will be awarded based on coefficient ranking.
Oceania (OFC): 1
Oceania only has one spot. To be eligible for qualification a team must win the OFC Champions League.
The four most recent Champions League winners will then be ranked by coefficient, with the team in first place qualifying for the Club World Cup.
