If the football calendar was not burning enough, for the summer of 2025 FIFA has called a new tournament: a Club World Cup in the United States with 32 teams and for one month (from June 15 to July 13). An event that, a year from now, still has pending issues and whose conditions do not arouse, by any means, the joy of all those classified. Carlo Ancelotti raised his voice and went far in the protest: “FIFA forgets: the players and clubs will not participate. A single Real Madrid match is worth 20 million and FIFA wants to give us that amount for the entire cup. Negative. Like us, others will reject the invitation,” the white coach warned in an interview in the Italian media. Il Giornale. The president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, has also shown several times his rejection of the design of this competition.
At the Bernabéu they understand that the project still has a few aspects to close. “This World Cup needs many meetings with all parties. For now, it is a ghost tournament. There are no tied stadiums or television rights,” Madrid sources pointed out, although they understand that in the end it could be “a good outcome.”
Of the 32 teams planned, there are 12 European teams with a guaranteed ticket: Chelsea, City, Bayern, PSG, Inter, Porto, Benfica, Dortmund, Juventus, Atlético and Salzburg, in addition to Real Madrid. They are all part of the ECA (European Club Association), except Real Madrid, and seem willing to participate.
Right now, this World Cup still does not have specific venues and the television contract has not been signed, although according to ongoing negotiations it could reach one billion euros. The competition dates, in any case, do pose a serious problem of fitting into the usual calendar of the major European Leagues. The tournament is scheduled to end on July 13, when the teams have already started preseason. If the champion or finalist of the old continent went on vacation for three weeks, he would return to activity when his League would be about to start. For example, the 24-25 League will most likely start on Friday, August 16.
The entry of this new tournament in the month of July also raises another point to be resolved: what to do with the players’ contracts that end on June 30, the usual conclusion date, at least, in the continent’s big teams.
A design almost identical to the national team World Cup
In addition to the dozen European teams, the rest of the participants with a guaranteed place are: Al Ahly (Egypt), Wydad (Morocco), ES Tunis (Tunisia), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan), Al Ain (United Arab Emirates), Ulsan (South Korea), Monterrey (Mexico), Seattle Sounders (USA), Club León (Mexico), Auckland City (New Zealand), Palmeiras, Flamengo and Fluminense ( Brazil), River Plate (Argentina) and Pachuca (Mexico). The remaining four will come from the Copa Libertadores, the host country and Conmebol (South American Football Confederation).
The competition system designed for this World Cup is almost identical to a national team World Cup: groups of four squads of which two would advance to the round of 16, and from there on to a single match. The only difference is that the third place match would be eliminated.
The conquest of the Champions League a week ago opens a horizon for Madrid of seven competitions for the next year, because the creation of this expanded Club World Cup does not eliminate another of the classic commitments for the European champion: in this case, under the name of the Intercontinental Cup, a substitute for the usual much shorter Club World Cup that used to be held at the end of the year. On December 18, at a venue yet to be determined, the whites will seek this title. Unlike other years, they go directly to the final. The winner of the Copa Libertadores must overcome previous rounds.
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