New Delhi: Following the conclusion of the 2024 Copa Libertadores, where 10-man Botafogo defeated fellow Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro in the final last night, all 32 teams of the tournament have been confirmed. The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup has been revamped from this season onwards by the beautiful game’s governing body, with the number of participants increasing from the seven that competed at the last edition.
Likening it more with the FIFA World Cup, where 32 teams compete once every four years to determine which is the best footballing nation in the world, FIFA has opted to adopt a similar format for the Club World Cup as well. The tournament earlier used to take place every year during December where seven teams from six federations would compete for the title but that will no longer be the format from this season onwards.
Just like the World Cup, the Club World Cup will have 32 teams from the six federations and will take place in the months of June and July, the same window when the World Cup takes place. There were slots allotted to the federations based on a “set of objective metrics and criteria.” UEFA was allotted the most number of slots with them getting 12 with the CONEMBOL having the second most slots with six. Four slots were given to the AFC, CAF, and CONCACAF, while the OFC and the host association each were given one slot.
Which teams have qualified for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup?
🚨🏆 All set for FIFA Club World Cup with 32 team now officially qualified!
Draw taking place next December 5. pic.twitter.com/GpOPaM5JzX
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 30, 2024
The 2024 Copa Libertadores winners Botafogo became the last team to qualify for the tournament thanks to their triumph last night. The spot for the host association was awarded to Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF on account of them being the winners of the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield. They join Seattle Sounders FC, who qualified on account of winning the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League, as the only other US-based club in the tournament.
The 12 UEFA slots were divided between the winners of the UEFA Champions League from 2021 to 2024. That allowed Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City to be qualified while the other nine slots went to teams on the basis of UEFA’s 4-year ranking. Similarly, four of the six CONEMBOL slots were given to the Copa Libertadores winners from 2021 to 2024 while Boca Juniors and River Plate qualified on the basis of CONMEBOL’s 4-year ranking.
All CONCACAF slots went to the winners of their Champions League from the last four years while Auckland City grabbed the solitary OFC slot given they were the best OFC Champions League winners in the OFC 4-year ranking. The CAF slots were also supposed to go to the winners of the CAF Champions League but Al Ahly won the thing thrice in the last four years so the two remaining spots were given on the basis of CAF’s 4-year ranking and the same was done for the final AFC spot.
While all the teams have been confirmed, the groups for the tournament are yet to be divided. The draw for the Club World Cup will take place on Thursday, December 5, 2024 and the tournament will start on June 15, 2025 with the final being played on Jul13, 2025. The Club World will be played across 12 venues in the United States with the final set for the New York Jets’ MetLife Stadium.
All 32 teams for he revamped 2025 FIFA Club World Cup have been finalized following the conclusion of the Copa Libertadores last night. Dive in to find out which teams will participate in the tournament! Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
