Manchester United and Liverpool won’t participate in the restructured 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, but Chelsea will be involved.
The football governing body, as reported by the Telegraph, has chosen to restrict each country to two teams.
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In the competition featuring 32 clubs, the Premier League will be represented by Manchester City and Chelsea, the Champions League and European champions from two years ago.
Despite Liverpool’s significantly higher UEFA coefficient compared to Chelsea, who didn’t qualify for Europe this season, their exclusion might be particularly disappointing.
In the end, FIFA determined that Chelsea’s victory in Porto against City held more significance, securing their spot in Saudi Arabia.
For Arsenal to join the English representation, they must win this season’s Champions League.
Scheduled from June 15 to July 13, the tournament will be accompanied by a new annual Intercontinental Cup starting next year, as announced by Gianni Infantino, the head of world soccer’s governing body, on Sunday.
Earlier this year, FIFA had unveiled an enlarged Club World Cup and unanimously selected the United States as hosts for its inaugural edition.
The Council convened in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to formalize the dates for the Club World Cup. Additionally, they affirmed that the Intercontinental Cup in the following year would feature the UEFA Champions League winner facing a team emerging from intercontinental playoffs.
Set for December 14, 2024, the playoffs will conclude with the final on December 18.
In the 2025 edition of the tournament, occurring every four years, there will be eight groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stages, mirroring the format of the World Cup.
The existing annual FIFA Club World Cup, featuring seven teams, will be discontinued after this tournament, which is now also hosted by Saudi Arabia.
In the current structure, the European and South American champions join the tournament during the semi-final stage, whereas champions from other confederations progress through preceding rounds.
