FIFA Club World Cup 2025: New rules, teams, groups, venues; all you need to know

The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 is slated to kick off in a few days’ time. There are many new changes that are going to be implemented in the upcoming edition. For the first time ever, 32 football clubs from across the world will compete in this tournament. It will be held in the United States from 15 June to 14 July 2025.

What is new about the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup?

Earlier, the Club World Cup had only seven teams and was held every year. But from now on, it will take place once every four years like the FIFA World Cup, and will feature 32 teams from six football confederations – UEFA, CONMEBOL, CAF, AFC, Concacaf, and OFC.

The prize money has also been increased a lot. The winner will now get $40 million, compared to just $5 million before.

Where are the venues for 2025 Club World Cup?

The tournament will take place in 12 stadiums across the USA. The venues are as follows:

2. Atlanta, Mercedes-Benz Stadium

3. Charlotte, TQL Stadium

4. Cincinnati, Bank of America Stadium

5. Los Angeles, Rose Bowl Stadium

6. Miami, Hard Rock Stadium

7. Nashville, GEODIS Park

8. New Jersey, MetLife Stadium

9. Orlando, Camping World Stadium

10. Orlando, Inter&Co Stadium

11. Philadelphia, Lincoln Financial Field

12. Seattle, Lumen Field

13. Washington DC, Audi Field

Which teams have qualified?

CAF (Africa)

• Al Ahly FC (Egypt) – 2020/21, 2022/23, 2023/24 CAF Champions League winners

• Wydad AC (Morocco) – 2021/22 CAF Champions League winner

• Espérance de Tunis (Tunisia) – CAF ranking pathway

• Mamelodi Sundowns FC (South Africa) – CAF ranking pathway

AFC (Asia)

• Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia) – 2021 AFC Champions League winner

• Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan) – 2022 AFC Champions League winner

• Al Ain FC (UAE) – 2023/24 AFC Champions League winner

• Ulsan HD (South Korea) – AFC ranking pathway

UEFA (Europe)

• Chelsea FC (England) – 2020/21 UEFA Champions League winner

• Real Madrid CF (Spain) – 2021/22, 2023/24 UEFA Champions League winner

• Manchester City FC (England) – 2022/23 UEFA Champions League winner

• FC Bayern München (Germany) – UEFA ranking pathway

• Paris Saint-Germain (France) – UEFA ranking pathway

• FC Internazionale Milano (Italy) – UEFA ranking pathway

• FC Porto (Portugal) – UEFA ranking pathway

• SL Benfica (Portugal) – UEFA ranking pathway

• Borussia Dortmund (Germany) – UEFA ranking pathway

• Juventus FC (Italy) – UEFA ranking pathway

• Atlético de Madrid (Spain) – UEFA ranking pathway

• FC Salzburg (Austria) – UEFA ranking pathway

Concacaf (North/Central America & Caribbean)

• CF Monterrey (Mexico) – 2021 Concacaf Champions Cup winner

• Seattle Sounders FC (USA) – 2022 Concacaf Champions Cup winner

• CF Pachuca (Mexico) – 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup winner

OFC (Oceania)

• Auckland City FC (New Zealand) – OFC ranking pathway

CONMEBOL (South America)

• SE Palmeiras (Brazil) – 2021 CONMEBOL Libertadores winner

• CR Flamengo (Brazil) – 2022 CONMEBOL Libertadores winner

• Fluminense FC (Brazil) – 2023 CONMEBOL Libertadores winner

• Botafogo (Brazil) – 2024 CONMEBOL Libertadores winner

• CA River Plate (Argentina) – CONMEBOL ranking pathway

• CA Boca Juniors (Argentina) – CONMEBOL ranking pathway

Host nation (USA)

• Inter Miami CF (USA) – Host nation slot

• LAFC (USA) – FIFA Club World Cup Play-In

How are the groups divided?

Group A: Palmeiras, FC Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami

Group B:  Paris Saint-Germain , Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica

Group D: Flamengo, Esperance Sportive de Tunisie, Chelsea , Los Angeles FC

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

New rules and technology

Referee body cam: Referees will wear tiny cameras to show fans live action from their point of view. It will be implemented at only six NFL stadiums.

AI offside checks: Artificial Intelligence (AI) will help decide offside to make them faster using 16 cameras. The AI part of this is new.

Goalkeeper timeout rule: If a keeper holds the ball too long (more than 8 seconds), the other team will get a corner kick instead of an indirect free kick.