Chelsea will be part of history made next summer on the global stage with the confirmation today that our men’s team will contest the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.
At the start of the Road to 25, just under a year until the tournament begins, FIFA has unveiled 29 of what will become 32 qualified clubs competing for the trophy across 63 matches and 29 days.
The expansion of teams taking part and the new place on the football calendar are innovations that make this FIFA Club World Cup the first of its kind, and different from the tournament Chelsea won in Abu Dhabi in 2022. In 2025, it will be staged in the United States of America and commence on 15 June, with the final on 13 July.
The Blues’ qualification is due to our status as one of the UEFA Champions League winners during the four-year qualification cycle, and as such, we will be joined by Manchester City and Real Madrid.
The European clubs making it through due to their UEFA ranking are Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Inter, Juventus, Porto, Benfica, Atletico Madrid and Salzburg.
The global tournament will also feature four teams apiece from Africa and Asia. The same number will represent North and Central America and the Caribbean combined, while South America will send six sides. One place is reserved for Oceania and one for the host nation, in this case the USA.
The two teams we beat when we won the Club World Cup, Al Hilal and Palmeiras, are confirmed as through today as an AFC Champions League winner and a CONMEBOL Libertadores winner respectively.
When Chelsea first qualified for this FIFA competition in 2012, we beat Monterrey in the semi-final (before losing to Corinthians in the final) and the Mexican side will be back in 2025 having lifted the Concacaf Champions Cup.
With a group stage comprising eight groups of four teams, and the top two teams progressing to the round of 16 for the start of the knockout stage, the competition has the same format as the FIFA World Cup 2022 and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, with the exception that there will be no play-off for third place.
There will be further unveilings in the coming year including the cities and stadiums that will host the games, a new trophy and the tournament draw information.
It is all set to be a summer with a difference for Chelsea Football Club!