With anticipation mounting for the inaugural Club World Cup next summer, FIFA President Gianni Infantino revealed the full list of twelve U.S. stadiums hosting the event in 2025.
The Club World Cup is significant because it is FIFA’s first attempt to truly globalize club football.
ABOVE: MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will stage the tournament’s final on 13 July 2025
The stadiums span ten states – including D.C.’s Audi Field – and culminate at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for the championship game. Teams from 20 nations will congregate in the United States and battle for the title of best club team in the world.
He declared, “We need occasions to bring people together from all over the world,” said Infantino. “We will have five people minimum who will come to these countries and to celebrate in peace football. That’s what we need.”
Typically, club teams are composed of players from a variety of nations, but games are only played on one continent. On the other hand, international teams require players to participate based on nationality, either in FIFA World Cups or in friendlies.
ABOVE: All 12 US stadia to feature at the Cup World Cup
This international-domestic split leaves a huge gap in fans’ ability to accurately compare club teams from different leagues since they never play each other. For example, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Europa League champions Real Madrid never faced Concacaf Champions Cup winners Pachuca. With the introduction of the FIFA Club World Cup, fans will experience never-before-seen matchups as the world’s most global sport gets even more competitive.
The format of the tournament will be an Olympic-style group play setup. Eight groups of four will play each other to determine the best two teams in each group, after which a 16-team knockout bracket establishes the sole winner. The Club World Cup spans from June 15 to July 13, making for a spectacular month of high-stakes football.
30 of the 32 competing teams have been selected, using a system that pulls teams from each of the six international football confederations that comprise FIFA: CAF (Africa), AFC (Asia), UEFA (Europe), Concacaf (North and Central America), OFC (Oceania) and CONMEBOL (South America).
