The equivalent for club teams should be like a small football World Cup for national teams in the future. The plan: From 2025, 32 teams will play the tournament. That explains FIFA President Gianni Infantino. But how exactly is still unclear.
From 2025, the Club World Cup will be played with 32 teams. This was announced by FIFA President Gianni Infantino at a press conference in Doha. The venue and other details were “not yet discussed” at the meeting of the World Football Association Council. A club world championship for women is also “planned”.
Due to the enlarged field of participants, the tournament should “really feel like a world championship”. So far, the six continental champions and the host nation’s champions are in attendance. Details for the first edition in 2025 with 32 teams as well as the host and the date still have to be discussed and decided, Infantino said.
The Club World Cup in a month and a half from February 1st to 11th with Champions League winners Real Madrid as the European representative will be one of the last editions in the old format. Originally, a new tournament with 24 teams should have taken place in China in the summer of 2021. Due to the corona-related postponement of the EM 2020 and the Copa America by one year, the reformed tournament was also postponed. In addition, the plans for the new format with more teams had been suspended for the time being.
The FIFA President also spoke about the 2026 World Cup. Accordingly, he wanted to reconsider the planned format and possibly continue to use groups of four. “After this World Cup and the success of the four-team groups, we have to discuss it again,” said Infantino. “You didn’t know who would advance until the last minute of the game. That was incredible.”
Originally, 16 groups of three were planned for the World Cup, which has been expanded to 48 teams in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Infantino now brought twelve groups of four into play as an alternative. As a result of the inflation, he generally expects 50 percent more income. In the cycle before the Qatar World Cup, the world association had already made a turnover of 7.5 billion euros and thus achieved an increase of one billion euros compared to the previous World Cup cycle up to 2018.
He thinks that thanks to the 2026 World Cup, “football in North America will boom,” said Infantino: “We are optimistic about the power of football. We are convinced that football can also become number 1 in North America. Maybe number two and then with time number one.” Many “attractions” are planned for the fans. He expects around 5.5 million fans to travel to the 2026 World Cup.
Infantino also spoke about his own tenure at the press conference. Accordingly, he could remain FIFA President until 2031 if he is re-elected twice more. During the deliberations in the Council of the World Football Association, it was made clear “that I am in my first term,” said the Swiss.
He has led FIFA since February 2016. Next March, the 52-year-old will stand for re-election unopposed at the FIFA Congress in Kigali. Then his second term would begin, Infantino said. According to the statutes, the FIFA President can be elected for a maximum of three terms of four years each.
According to Infantino, the first three years from early 2016 to the summer of 2019 do not count as terms of office. He took over the presidency from Joseph Blatter, who was elected in May 2015 and resigned shortly thereafter. Infantino was confirmed in office in Paris in 2019. The FIFA President is always elected in the year after the men’s World Cup.