The world football governing body announced on Sunday that the inaugural expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States is set to captivate audiences from June 15 to July 13, 2025.
FIFA stated that the 32-team tournament, officially called the Mundial de Clubes FIFA, would be "harmoniously aligned with the International Match Calendar" to ensure a sufficient gap between the final and the start of domestic leagues.
"Clubs play a fundamental role in world football, and the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be a major milestone in providing clubs from all confederations with a fitting stage on which to shine at the highest level of the game," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. "This will be an open competition based on sporting merit that will play a key role in our efforts to make football truly global."
The last edition of the Club World Cup in its current form is currently being held in Saudi Arabia, where Champions League winner Manchester City aims to win the trophy for the first time.
Starting in 2024, an annual tournament called the Coupe Intercontinentale de la FIFA will be played between the Champions League winner and the winner of a playoff between champions from the other football confederations.
Player welfare
The announcement drew criticism from players' union FIFPRO.
"The FIFA Council’s decision today to schedule the first edition of the 32-team FIFA Club World Cup between June 15 and July 13 without implementing further player workload safeguards demonstrates a lack of consideration for the mental and physical health of participating players, as well as a disregard for their personal and family lives," it said in a statement.
FIFPRO called for discussions to introduce player health and safety regulations as a "matter of urgency."
"The extreme mental and physical pressures at the pinnacle of the game are the principal concern of players with multiple club and national team competitions, leading to exhaustion, physical injuries, mental health issues, diminished performance and risks to career longevity," the statement said. "They have repeatedly voiced concerns about mounting workload to their national player unions."