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FIFA has revamped the Club World Cup in 2025, expanding it to a 32-team tournament held every four years, now mirroring the structure of the FIFA World Cup.
With big name stars set to grace the competition, here is everything you need to know, from the full list of qualified clubs to how teams secured their spots.
Qualified Teams by Confederation
FIFA’s 32 slots are distributed across six continents and one host team. Here is the breakdown.
UEFA (Europe) – 12 clubs selected based on Champions League results and four-year rankings: Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, PSG, Inter Milan, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg
CONMEBOL (South America) – 6 clubs, including Copa Libertadores winners and top-ranked teams: Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo, River Plate, Boca Juniors
AFC (Asia) – 4 clubs via AFC Champions League winners or ranking: Al-Hilal, Urawa Red Diamonds, Al Ain, Ulsan Hyundai
CAF (Africa) – 4 clubs, CAF Champions League winners and ranking: Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca, Espérance de Tunis, Mamelodi Sundowns
CONCACAF (North America) – 4 clubs, including the host’s Shield winners: Monterrey, Seattle Sounders, Pachuca, LAFC
OFC (Oceania) – 1 club via Champions League rankings: Auckland City
USA Host spot (CONCACAF) – 1 slot awarded to the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield winner: Inter Miami.
How Club World Cup 2025 Qualification Works
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FIFA introduced a clear qualification system for the newly expanded Club World Cup to ensure fairness and global representation.
For UEFA and CONMEBOL, the available slots were filled by the winners of the Champions League and Copa Libertadores over the past four seasons. Beyond that, extra spots were handed out based on club performances, with FIFA using a special points-based ranking to decide which teams deserved to join.
For AFC, CAF, and CONCACAF, it’s more straightforward, the last four winners of each region’s continental competition automatically qualified.
For OFC (Oceania), only one spot was given, and it went to the club with the best record in their Champions League.
Finally, Inter Miami qualified automatically as the host nation’s representative by winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield.
This format guarantees a wide representation across continents while rewarding consistent success in continental competitions.
How the Points System Works
FIFA introduced a ranking system to determine additional spots and to fairly rank clubs over the four-year cycle. The formula is slightly different for each continent:
For non-European clubs (e.g., Fluminense in South America):
3 points for a win
1 point for a draw
3 points for qualifying through each knockout stage
For example, Fluminense won the 2023 Copa Libertadores by beating Boca Juniors in the final. In the group stage, they picked up 10 points (3 wins, 1 draw). In the knockouts, they earned 17 points (5 wins, 2 draws) plus 12 additional points for advancing through each round. In total, Fluminense collected 39 points from that campaign.
For European clubs (UEFA Champions League):
2 points for a win
1 point for a draw
4 points for reaching the group stage
5 points for qualifying for the Round of 16
1 point for progressing through each stage after that
Take Manchester City’s 2022-23 Champions League run as an example. They earned 4 points for entering the group stage. They then collected 10 points in the group (4 wins, 2 draws).
Reaching the Round of 16 gave them an extra 5 points, and they picked up 3 bonus points for making it to the final. In total, they earned 33 points across the competition.
This system helped FIFA decide which European teams would make the cut for the expanded Club World Cup based on sustained success over multiple seasons.
Tournament Format & Schedule
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Group Stage: Teams are split into eight groups of four, playing in a single round-robin.
Knockout Rounds: Top two from each group advance to the Round of 16, then progress through quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final—no third-place match
Dates & Stadiums: Runs from June 15 to July 13, across 12 cities in the US, with the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Draw Rules: Held on December 5, 2024; ensured teams from the same confederation usually avoid each other in groups, with certain UEFA conditions.
Prize Money & Financials
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Total prize pool: $1 billion, with the winner receiving up to $125 million
Revenue sharing: FIFA plans large solidarity payments to clubs and federations based on sporting and commercial performance
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