Barcelona and Lamin Yamal fans must be disappointed that the world will miss the scintillating play of Barca when the FIFA Club World Cup kicks off on Sunday, June 15 in the US.
The competition, running until July 13, features 32 teams from around the world battling for a total prize of US$1billion. It begins with African champions Al Ahly facing Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
The new system replaces the previous annual format, which included seven teams. This updated structure will occur every four years, in the year before the FIFA World Cup.
UEFA has 12 teams in the tournament, while CONMEBOL has six. CAF and AFC each have four teams. CONCACAF normally has four but will have five this year due to hosting rights. Oceania has one representative.
These are the teams:
UEFA: Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, PSG, Inter, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg
CONMEBOL: Palmeiras, Fluminense, Flamengo, Botafogo, River Plate, Boca Juniors
AFC: Al Hilal, Urawa Red Diamonds, Al Ain, Ulsan HD
CAF: Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca, Esperance de Tunis, Mamelodi Sundowns
CONCACAF: Monterrey, Seattle Sounders, Los Angeles FC, Pachuca, Inter Miami (host)
OFC: Auckland City
Barcelona did not qualify as the dates were backdated four years, and the winners of the primary club competition, the equivalent of the UEFA Champions League, from 2021 qualified automatically.
For example, Chelsea and Manchester City won the 2021 and 2023 UEFA Champions League (UCL) respectively. Real Madrid won the 2022 and 2024 UCL, Fluminense won the 2022 CONMEBOL Libertadores, while Al Ain won the 2024 AFC Champions League. This also means that for winning the 2025 UCL, PSG have already qualified for the 2029 edition of this competition
Following the continental winners, clubs advanced through a ranking pathway determined by coefficients calculated over a four-year period.
The rules state that only two teams per country can qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup unless they are continental champions. For example, Brazilian teams have won the Copa Libertadores since 2020, resulting in four Brazilian teams participating in the competition. However, once the spots have been filled by teams that won the continental competitions, another club from the same country cannot qualify through the ranking pathway.
In Spain, Real Madrid took up the standard spot by winning the 2022 and 2024 UCL, while Atletico Madrid had a higher ranking coefficients than Barcelona within the last four years.
The 32 teams are divided into eight groups of four, playing in a round-robin format:
Group A: Palmeiras, FC Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami CF
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders FC
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica
Group D: Flamengo, Espérance de Tunis, Chelsea, LAFC
Group E: River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey, Internazionale
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan HD, Mamelodi Sundowns
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad AC, Al Ain, Juventus
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, RB Salzburg
