By Faith Barbara N Ruhinda Updated at 1650 EAT on Wednesday 11 June 2025

The FIFA Club World Cup is indeed concidered a premier international club football competition, but determining the “best club in the world” can be subective and depends on various factors.

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is set to be a major event in the football world, with 32 teams from around the globe competing for a share of the $1 billion prize purse. Here’s what we know about the tournament.

Whether the expanded tournament will be “better” is subjective, but it promises to be an exciting event with increased participation and prize money. The new format and larger prize pool aim to make the tournament more competitive and attractive to fans worldwide.

Football fans are asking: where are Liverpool, Barcelona and Napoli? The three champions of England, Spain and Italy aren’t competing.

The qualifying criteria were designed to reflect the strength of clubs over the past four years. But that has caused FIFA a credibility problem for a tournament it hopes can eclipse UEFA’s Champions League.

FIFA’s own criteria was diluted and compromised by the way a place was suddenly found for Inter Miami, one of three MLS (Major League Soccer) clubs that will be representing the host nation. MLS Champions Los Angeles Galaxy didn’t get a spot.

With superstar Lionel Messi having helped Inter Miami become a major global brand, they gained entry by finishing top of the regular season standings in last year’s MLS. This wasn’t part of the qualification criteria until suddenly announced by FIFA, with Infantino congratulating them in person at the celebrations on the pitch in Miami.

Messi’s team will play in the opening fixture against Egypt’s Al Ahly on Saturday night at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, but the 37-year-old’s legendary status hasn’t quite worked its magic, with organisers already having to cut ticket prices to the match.

Cristiano Ronaldo won’t be joining Lionel Messi at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Despite FIFA President Gianni Infantino suggesting Ronaldo could play for another team in the tournament, Ronaldo has confirmed he won’t participate. Here’s why.

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will feature 32 teams from around the world, including Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, which qualified as the host nation representative. The tournament is scheduled to take place from June 14 to July 13, 2025, in the United States.

But Ronaldo has been busy elsewhere, scoring to help Portugal to win the UEFA Nations League on Sunday against closest rivals Spain, proving Infantino was right to realise he is still “box office”. Whether FIFA presidents should be starting transfer speculation is another matter. Ronaldo turned down approaches to play.

But after a tiring season, the coach and players are more philosophical. Players’ union FIFPRO reacted with dismay to the major expansion of the tournament and its shift to June/July, going as far as to threaten legal action, and calling FIFA “inherently abusive” for adding so many games.

At Liverpool, who won the English Premier League by 10 points, failing to qualify for the tournament has been met with a shrug of the shoulders. The club’s Dutch manager Arne Slot feels his team, who won the Premier League in his first season in charge, didn’t need another challenge and more games.

“I don’t think it’s healthy for players to only have maybe one week off, then go into the tournament, then have one week off and start the whole Premier League season again. That can never be good for the health of a player,” said Slot.

“Maybe when the tournament has been played or done well, we’ll all feel we would love to have been there, because what a great occasion. I think most people in football have the same opinion: ‘Pfft, another tournament.’’

FIFA is accustomed to criticism, but with the Club World Cup, it is also dealing with something potentially more damaging: apathy.

As well as the slow ticket sales, there are no guarantees DAZN will get the viewing figures it would like for its billion-dollar investment. And the tournament will provide a litmus test of the current interest in football from the American public, a year before co-hosting the 48-team World Cup with Mexico and Canada.

Ultimately, football fans notice what happens on the field more than off it. The political aspect of this tournament is not talked about it, but don’t underestimate its significance.

FIFA’s global vision wasn’t expanded only because the governing body wanted to “prove the world’s best team”. It’s largely about the relationship between the FIFA president and UEFA, his former employers.

Tensions between FIFA and UEFA recently surfaced when Infantino arrived late to the FIFA Congress in Paraguay, straight from meetings in the Middle East during US President Donald Trump’s state visit. UEFA’s delegates walked out mid-meeting over what they called a “deeply regrettable” delay.

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup’s format and qualification criteria are likely to be re-evaluated after the tournament. FIFA might make changes to address concerns and improve the competition. Possible changes could include.

These potential changes aim to make the Club World Cup more exciting and representative of the global football landscape.

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