Twelve European powerhouses will compete at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup scheduled to be played in the United States from June 15 – July 13, 2025, Afrosport reports.
The competition, which is planned to be the first under an expanded format with 32 teams, also includes the winners of the four previous continental championships as announced by its organisers, FIFA.
The most successful and current UEFA Champions League holders, Real Madrid, six-time winners, Bayern Munich, three-time winners, Inter Milan, along with their Italian rivals and two-time UCL champions, Juventus, made the list.
Others include the 2022 champions, Manchester City, two-time champions, Chelsea, 1997 champions, Borussia Dortmund, and Portuguese giants, Benfica and FC Porto.
Spanish outfit Atletico Madrid, French giants Paris Saint-Germain, and Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg complete the 12-team European representatives at the tournament.
African giants Al Ahly, Esperance de Tunis, Wydad Casablanca, and Mamelodi Sundowns hope to put up a fitting outing as the continent’s representatives.
According to FIFA, the 32 participating teams will be divided into eight groups of four teams, with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the knockout stage.
The format will be the same that was used in the FIFA World Cup between 1998 and 2022, except for a third-place play-off.
Although the host cities for the tournament remain undecided, it is believed it will be held on the East Coast to be closer to the European broadcasters and viewers while also avoiding conflicts with the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which will also take place primarily in the United States around the same time but on the West Coast.
