Immediately following the 2023 edition that is now being held in Saudi Arabia, FIFA intends to implement significant reforms in an effort to revive its elite club competition program. Since the Champions League was first established in the year 2000, the present structure, which pits continent champions against one another on an annual basis, has encountered difficulties in broad appeal due to the persistent domination of Champions League winners.
In the forthcoming matchup for the semi-finals of the Club World Cup, Manchester City will compete against Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan. The ultimate contenders will be either Fluminense of Brazil or Al Ahly of Egypt. In preparation for the tournament that will take place in the United States in 2025, FIFA plans to increase the number of teams competing from seven to 32. The tournament will be conducted every four years. In order to ensure that only two clubs from each nation are allowed to participate, the regulatory body intends to give priority to clubs that have won the Champions League during the past four years.
The two seats are now held by Chelsea and Manchester City, the representatives of England, as a result of their victories in the Champions League in 2021 and their continuous success in Europe. On the other hand, FIFA’s judgment might shift if a nation emerges from a qualifying phase with more than two continental winners. As a result, Arsenal would be qualified to compete in the Club World Cup in 2025 if they were to achieve success in the Champions League this year.
Due to the fact that they are not currently participating in the knockout stages of the Champions League, organizations such as Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Liverpool, or Tottenham are considered to be improbable participants.
The criteria for qualifying for the 2025 Club World Cup were presented by FIFA at a conference that took place not too long ago in Jeddah. Because of their triumphs in the Champions League in 2022, Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Chelsea were able to earn spots in the tournament. Twelve clubs from Europe are scheduled to take part, with nine additional teams being selected based on their performance in the Champions League since the year 2020. Benfica, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, and Porto are among the teams that have confirmed their participation.
The remaining teams, including Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, Barcelona, Juventus, Napoli, Red Bull Salzburg, Lazio, Arsenal, Copenhagen, Real Sociedad, and PSV, have the possibility to gain spots in the Champions League if they are victorious in this year’s competition.