A lot of criticism surrounds the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. The FIFA Club World Cup takes place in the United States. It is played under a new format, and this tournament is set to take place every four years. The tournament itself is a month-long. A further change is in the number of teams selected to play. The number has increased from 7 to 32 teams. Teams from all six of the various international football confederations will participate in the Club World Cup. These confederations are CAF (Africa), AFC (Asia), CONMEBOL (South America), UEFA (Europe), OFC (Oceania), and Concacaf (North and Central America).
Delving deeper into the FIFA Club World Cup tournament
In most instances, the winners of the confederation’s equivalent of the UEFA Champions League over the past four seasons have qualified. For Oceania specifically, it would have been the best-performing winning team over the past four years. The European clubs have 12 places for the tournament. Place determinations are made by considering the performances during the club’s Champions League.
It is evaluated over a four-year qualifying period. Therefore, the recent winners, Manchester City, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), as well as Real Madrid, have also qualified. Some of the other European teams were able to qualify through the UEFA ranking system based on their performance during the four qualifying seasons. The United States receives an extra place due to the fact that they are host country.
Concerns raised about the format of this tournament
Fierce criticism was raised against the FIFA Club World Cup. Javier Tebas, President of La Liga, noted the disruption that it causes to domestic leagues as well as to the welfare of the players. According to Tebas, no dates exist that will be able to accommodate this month-long event without actually causing harm to La Liga’s ecosystem. Tebas is also of the opinion that this tournament should be scrapped.
A further point of concern that has been raised is the low attendance rate of these matches. This all considering the Club World Cup has a prize pool amounting to $1 billion. A sterling example of this has been the 22,000 fans that attended the Chelsea match against Los Angeles FC. This is disappointing considering the Mercedes-Benz stadium can house 71,000 fans.
The validity of the concerns raised
This has further fueled the argument of Tebas that profit is prioritized above fan engagement and player health. Scheduling conflicts also haunt Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid. This could potentially delay the 2025-26 season. It has been reported that discussions were held for a possible postponement of the La Liga start, but a final agreement has not been reached.
Tebas, however, remains firm, proclaiming that the Bundesliga clubs as well as the Premier League will still start on time, despite their participation. The players’ union FIFPro has also added to this controversy by calling for a mandatory four-week off-season break. This is all as a consideration for the welfare of the players. Concerns are also that the Club World Cup will further intensify an already-packed fixture list.
This all may further contribute to player burnout. Not everyone shares the critique. Some note that this may be FIFA’s way of advancing some of the non-European clubs. But there still seems to be great concern about the calendar that is now being thrown into disarray. The overall prize money for the FIFA Club World Cup is a staggering $125 million. This is a tempting amount, but arguments still persist that this puts some strain on the football environment. The critique raised by Tebas has not gone unnoticed by FIFA. These have also been shared by other players and fans alike. It is yet to be seen how FIFA will handle this situation.
