US host of new format FIFA Club World Cup™

Article posted by Coliseum, July 3^rd, 2023

Image: FIFA

The FIFA Council has unanimously appointed the United States as the host of the new and expanded 32-team FIFA Club World Cup™ that is due to take place in 2025, during a meeting held recently by videoconference from the Home of FIFA.

‘FIFA’ stated that the host selection process took into consideration the infrastructure and service requirements, as well as broader strategic objectives for the tournament.

Zürich (Switzerland)-based The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the international governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

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Zürich (Switzerland)-based the FIFA Council is an institution of FIFA. It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of FIFA Congress. Its members are elected by the FIFA Congress. The Council is a non-executive, supervisory and strategic body that sets the vision for FIFA and global football.

The FIFA Club World Cup™ is an international men’s association football competition organized by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport’s global governing body. The competition was first contested in 2000 as the FIFA Club World Championship.

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup™ will be the 21^st edition of the FIFA Club World Cup™, an international club association football competition organized by FIFA. The tournament will be played in the United States from June to July 2025. The tournament is planned to be the first under an expanded format with 32 teams, including the winners of the four previous continental championships.

‘FIFA’ further stated that the above decision was reached based on the United States’ position as a proven leader in staging global events and because it would allow FIFA to maximize synergies with the delivery of the FIFA World Cup 2026™, to the benefit of both tournaments and the development of football in the North American region. As a next step, FIFA will engage with the relevant stakeholders to finalize the dates, venues and match schedule of this new tournament.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup™, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23^rd FIFA World Cup™, the quadrennial international men’s soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member-associations of FIFA. The tournament will take place from a yet-to-be-determined date between June to July 19^th, 2026, and will be jointly hosted by 16 Cities in three North American countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States. The tournament will be the first hosted by three nations. Argentina is the defending champions.

Remarked Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, “The FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ will be the pinnacle of elite professional men’s club football and with the required infrastructure in place together with a massive local interest, the United States is the ideal host to kick off this new, global tournament. With some of the world’s top clubs already qualified, fans from every continent will be bringing their passion and energy to the United States in two years’ time for this significant milestone in our mission to make football truly global.”

The slot allocation per confederation and the key principles of access were already confirmed by the FIFA Council earlier this year.

FIFA World Cup 2030™ bidding process

To ensure additional consultation with all key stakeholders, in relation to the FIFA World Cup 2030™, which will mark the centenary of the men’s football’s showpiece tournament, the FIFA Council agreed to postpone the formal launch of the bidding process. Therefore, the relevant Bidding Regulations will be presented for approval at the next FIFA Council meeting due to take place in September/October 2023, with the bidding process to be officially launched thereafter. The expected appointment of the host(s) by the FIFA Congress will also move from Q3 2024 to Q4 2024.

The FIFA Council also approved the Overview of Hosting Requirements for the FIFA World Cup 2030™, which was prepared by the FIFA administration to allow all interested member- associations to better understand the requirements for hosting the competition, including with regard to the required infrastructure, the legal framework that must be established and the environmental and social objectives that should be pursued.

Regulations for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Preliminary Competition Approved

The FIFA Council also approved the Regulations for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Preliminary Competition which kicks off in September 2023.

Informed Infantino, “With 48 teams participating in the next FIFA World Cup™, the tournament will have an unprecedented impact on world football, especially as more nations will have the opportunity to secure their place to shine on the global stage.”

Hosts of FIFA Congress and Tournaments

Additionally, the FIFA Council confirmed that the 74^th FIFA Congress, due to take place on May 17^th, 2024, will be hosted in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Council also appointed Indonesia as the host of the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2023™, Colombia as host of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2024™, the Dominican Republic as host of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2024™, and Uzbekistan as the host of the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024™. The time-frame for the respective competitions will be confirmed in due course.

The dates of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2023™, which is due to take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), were moved from November 16^th-26^th, 2023 to February 15^th-25^th, 2024.

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