It’s a new year and a new format for the FIFA Club World Cup. 2025’s tournament will look unlike any other iteration of the CWC.
The FIFA Club World Cup was previously a yearly tournament between the winners of the continental Champions League tournaments—seven winners, seven teams. With the new changes, the competition will be played every four years, like the World Cup. Like previous World Cups, there will be 32 teams in the format.
The format is styled like the World Cup as well. Thirty-two teams are split into eight groups of four, where each team in the group plays each other once. The top two of each group advance to the knockout round, where 16 teams face off in win-or-go-home matches until a champion is crowned.
Qualification is based on the four previous years of Champions League success. Twelve teams from Europe are in the field, along with six from South America, four from Asia, four from Africa, four from North America, and one from Oceania. A final spot is given to the host region, which will be North America this year. That extra spot went to Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami squad.
