With domestic and UEFA competitions drawing to a close, the stage is set for the first-ever 32-team FIFA Club World Cup, which is coming to the United States in the summer of 2025.
The new system is a groundbreaking step away from the usual seven-club format designed to give more clubs a chance to compete with the best in the world.
The tournament will be held across 12 cities in the US, bringing together football’s global heavyweights.
There are a few fixtures on the schedule that already have fans licking their lips.
The curtain raiser will draw a significant crowd, but fans will also be eagerly anticipating the mouth-watering contest between Bayern Munich and Boca Juniors.
Given the stature of both clubs, you can expect Bayern Munich vs Boca Juniors tickets to become hot commodities, especially on Seatsnet.com, which offers competitive prices.
Which Premier League teams will participate?
The Premier League will be represented by two former Champions League and Club World Cup winners, Manchester City and Chelsea.
The Cityzens have been drawn in Group G and will take on Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca, Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Italian powerhouse Juventus.
Meanwhile, Chelsea find themselves in Group D, where they’ll meet Brazil’s Flamengo, Tunisia’s Esperance Sportive de Tunis, and either Mexico’s Club America or Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC.
One of the latter duo will take Club Leon’s spot after the Mexican side failed to meet tournament regulations on multi-club ownership.
City will head into the tournament in North America as defending champions after thrashing Brazilian side Fluminense 4-0 to win the title in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Chelsea were crowned champions of the world back in 2021 when they beat Palmeiras 2-1 after extra time before relinquishing the title to five-time winners Real Madrid the following year.
Here’s all you need to know about the draw.
Competition Overview
Thirty-two of the best clubs in the world will compete in the revamped Club World Cup, which will kick off in June and last for a month.
Clubs from all six football confederations will take part.
They qualified by either winning a continental title, like the Champions League, in one of the four most recent seasons or by “having a high ranking of performance in the top-level continental tournament over a four-year period”, according to FIFA.
UEFA clubs lead the line-up with 12 slots, followed by South America’s CONMEBOL with six.
Asia, Africa, and CONCACAF – covering North and Central America – each have four representatives, while Oceania gets one place in the tournament.
Scheduled to run from June 15 to July 13, the new Club World Cup will span 63 matches across four weeks. The timing has also been carefully planned, although not everyone is in support.
The 2024/25 Premier League season finished on May 25, and the new campaign is scheduled to get underway on Saturday, August 16.
Club World Cup format
The revamped Club World Cup will run in a traditional tournament format. The 32 teams will be divided into eight groups of four. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stages.
However, unlike international tournaments, there will be no third-place play-off between the two losing semi-final teams.
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami will take on Egyptian side Al Ahly at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium in the curtain raiser. The same stadium will host a grudge rematch between Madrid and Al Hilal.
Which teams have qualified?
Europe
- Manchester City
- Real Madrid
- Chelsea
- Bayern Munich
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Inter Milan
- Porto
- Benfica
- Borussia Dortmund
- Juventus
- Red Bull Salzburg
- Atletico Madrid
Oceania
- Auckland City
South America
- Palmeiras
- Flamengo
- Fluminense
- River Plate
- Boca Juniors
- Botafogo (Copa Libertadores winner)
North America
- Monterrey
- Seattle Sounders
- Pachuca
- Inter Miami (host nation slot)
- Club America/Los Angeles
Africa
- Al Ahly
- Wydad
- Esperance de Tunis
- Mamelodi Sundowns
Asia
- Al Hilal
- Urawa Red Diamonds
- Al Ain
- Ulsan HD
Club World Cup draw
Group A: Palmeiras, FC Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami
Group B: Paris St-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica
Group D: Flamengo, Esperance Sportive de Tunisie, Chelsea, Club Leon
Group E: River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey, Inter Milan
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg
Club World Cup venues
The 2025 Club World Cup takes place in the United States across 12 stadiums:
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Georgia)
- Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina)
- TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- Rose Bowl Stadium (Los Angeles, California)
- Hard Rock Stadium (Miami, Florida)
- GEODIS Park (Nashville, Tennessee)
- Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
- Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
- Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- Lumen Field (Seattle, Washington State)
- Audi Field (Washington, DC)
- MetLife Stadium – (New York, New Jersey)
Club World Cup fixture schedule
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami
- Al Ahly v Inter Miami – June 14
- Palmeiras v Porto – June 15
- Palmeiras v Al Ahly – June 19
- Inter Miami CF v Porto – June 19
- Inter Miami CF v Palmeiras – June 23
- Porto v Al Ahly – June 23
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders
- PSG v Atletico – June 15
- Botafogo v Seattle Sounders – June 15
- Seattle Sounders v Atletico – June 19
- PSG v Botafogo – June 19
- Seattle Sounders v PSG – June 23
- Atletico vs Botafogo – June 23
Group C: Bayern Munich, Benfica, Boca Juniors, Auckland City
- Bayern v Auckland – June 15
- Boca Juniors v Benfica – June 16
- Benfica v Auckland – June 20
- Bayern v Boca Juniors – June 20
- Auckland v Boca Juniors – June 24
- Benfica v Bayern – June 24
Group D: Flamengo, Chelsea, Esperance Sportive de Tunis, Club Leon (could be replaced)
- Chelsea v Club Leon – June 16
- Flamengo v Esperance – June 16
- Flamengo v Chelsea – June 20
- Club Leon v Esperance – June 20
- Club Leon v Flamengo – June 24
- Esperance v Chelsea – June 24
Group E: River Plate, Inter Milan, CF Monterrey, Urawa Red Diamonds
- River Plate v Urawa Red Diamonds – June 17
- Monterrey v Inter – June 17
- Inter v Urawa Red Diamonds – June 21
- River Plate v Monterrey – June 21
- Inter v River Plate – June 25
- Urawa Red Diamonds v Monterrey – June 25
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan HD, Mamelodi Sundowns
- Fluminense v Borussia Dortmund – June 17
- Ulsan HD v Mamelodi Sundowns – June 17
- Mamelodi Sundowns v Borussia Dortmund – June 21
- Fluminense v Ulsan HD – June 21
- Borussia Dortmund v Ulsan HD – June 25
- Mamelodi Sundowns v Fluminense – June 25
Group G: Manchester City, Juventus, Wydad AC, Al Ain
- Manchester City v Wydad – June 18
- Al Ain v Juventus – June 18
- Juventus v Wydad – June 22
- Manchester City v Al Ain – June 22
- Juventus v Manchester City – June 26
- Wydad v Al Ain – June 26
Group H: Real Madrid, FC Red Bull Salzburg, Al Hilal, CF Pachuca
- Real Madrid v Al Hilal – June 18
- Pachuca v FC Salzburg – June 18
- Real Madrid v Pachuca – June 22
- Salzburg v Al Hilal – June 22
- Al Hilal v Pachuca – June 26
- Salzburg v Real Madrid – June 26
Club World Cup 2025 – Knockout Stage
- Round of 16 – June 28-July 1
- Quarter Finals – July 4-July 5
- Semi-Finals – July 8-July 9
- Final – July 13
