FIFA: Saudi Arabia to host 2025 Club World Cup

FIFA announced on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia will host the next Club World Cup, from 12 to 22 December 2023, just three days after the coronation of Real Madrid in the edition held in Morocco.

“The FIFA Council has unanimously designated the Saudi Arabian Football Federation as host of the tournament, which is to be played in the current format with seven clubs, from 12 to 22 December 2023,” wrote the international body in a statement.

Launched in 2000, then definitively installed in 2005 to replace the defunct Intercontinental Cup, the Club World Cup pits the best team from each of FIFA’s six confederations against each other, as well as a team from the host country, for a total of seven teams.

In the future, FIFA plans to expand the format of the Club World Cup to a quadrennial 32-team tournament, with the first edition scheduled for the summer of 2025.

Thus, the Council has defined the distribution of qualifying places by continent, with four qualified clubs for Asia, four for Africa, four for Central and North America, six for South America, one for Oceania, twelve for Europe and one for the host country.

The FIFA Council also approved the 2022 annual report, which highlights the body’s record revenues, with $7.6 billion in the 2019-2022 cycle, and a projected $11 billion in profits in the 2023-2026 period.