The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 kicks off in the United States on Saturday, with 32 teams vying for the title in the new-look expanded intercontinental club competition.
Here’s everything you need to know about the tournament:
Until 2023, the FIFA Club World Cup was staged as an annual tournament every December and participation was limited to the winners of the continental club competitions, with the number ranging between six to eight clubs.
Starting in 2025, football’s governing body expanded the tournament to 32 teams and decided to run the revamped competition on a quadrennial cycle instead, similar to its showpiece FIFA World Cup.
A new FIFA Intercontinental Cup replaced the old Club World Cup as an annual competition in December 2024 with Real Madrid winning the inaugural edition held in Qatar.
Historically, the Club World Cup has featured no more than eight teams, but the 2025 edition is vastly different.
This year’s edition on US soil will be the first in the tournament’s 24-year history to feature 32 clubs – the same number of teams as recent FIFA World Cups – including the winners of the four previous continental championships.
The teams will be divided into eight groups of four competing in a round-robin group stage with the top two clubs from each group advancing to the knockouts, which begin with the round of 16 and end with the final.
The competition will begin on June 14, with the final scheduled for July 13. Here’s a breakdown of the schedule.
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