FIFA Club World Cup to Expand to World Cup Scale, Crowning the Ultimate Pro Soccer Champion

Starting from the 2025 Club World Cup, 32 Teams Will Participate... Scheduled to Be Held Every 4 Years

Gianni Infantino, President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA)
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Pyeonghwa] The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has decided to expand the Club World Cup, which it has held annually to select the world's best professional football team, to a scale similar to the World Cup.

On the 16th (local time), Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, held a press conference at the main media center of the 2022 Qatar World Cup in Al Rayyan, Qatar, and announced that according to the FIFA Council's decision, the Club World Cup will be newly held starting in 2025.

At the FIFA Council meeting held that day, a proposal was made to introduce a new format with 32 teams participating in the Club World Cup held in June 2025. There was also a proposal to hold the tournament every four years instead of annually. The next Club World Cup, scheduled to be held in Morocco in February next year, will maintain the existing format.

Previously, the FIFA Club World Cup was usually held every December. It was an annual event where the champions of club competitions from six continents and the league winner of the host country gathered to determine the world's strongest professional football team. Since 2007, it has maintained a seven-team format.

Meanwhile, President Infantino announced on the same day a review of the format for the 2026 North America, Central America, and Mexico World Cup. With the number of participating teams increased to 48, the group stage format, which was planned to be conducted with 16 groups of three countries each, will be reconsidered. Infantino said, "Twelve groups of four teams might be better," leaving open the possibility of future restructuring.

He also proposed an intercontinental tournament utilizing the March international match window in even-numbered years. The idea is to create a four-nation friendly tournament composed of four different confederations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.