Club World Cup: FIFA to make clubs take strongest squads to new tournament

Clubs participating in next summer’s Club World Cup will have to take their strongest squads and field their strongest teams.

FIFA’s expanded new 32-team tournament is scheduled to take place in the United States from June 15 to July 13 next summer.

Manchester City and Chelsea are the only English teams taking part and FIFA regulations mean they will not be able to allow any players to miss the tournament after a long season of domestic and European football.

In a further move to make sure squads are as strong as possible, FIFA will allow the member associations of all participating teams to open their transfer window from June 1-10 2025 so new signings can be registered before the tournament starts on June 15.

Clubs can also replace players during a restricted in-competition period from June 27 to July 3 within a set limit and according to specific limitations, including the fact that a “standard” registration window must be open for the club at the time.

Players whose contracts expire on June 30 2025 will be allowed to extend their deals until July 13 so they can play in the whole tournament. For example, Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne could take advantage of this special dispensation if he has not extended his City contract by then.

The regulations of the tournament will also stipulate that no player will be able to play for more than one team in the Club World Cup.

Playing in the tournament will not count towards rules limiting the number of clubs a player can represent to a maximum of three in one season. There will also be no obligation for teams to release players for international duty during the tournament.

The new regulations were agreed at the FIFA Council meeting in Zurich on Thursday. FIFA wants to make sure the best players play in the tournament and it believes the rules will ensure there is a level playing field for all participating clubs.

Meanwhile, European clubs are discussing proposals for the leading leagues to close their summer transfer windows simultaneously before their seasons start in the middle of August.

What is the Club World Cup?

Before its revamp for the 2025 tournament, the Club World Cup took place every year in December and was contested by the winners of continental club competitions from around the world.

For example, the winners of the UEFA Champions League would take part in the tournament every year and face off against continental counterparts from South America (CONMEBOL), Asia (AFC), Africa (CAF), North America (CONCACAF) and Oceania (OFC).

But then FIFA announced in December that the competition would be expanded to 32 club teams and would take place every four years.

To replace the annual competition, an Intercontinental Cup will be played annually and have the UEFA Champions League winner playing in the final against a team that comes through intercontinental playoffs.

How does the tournament work?

The tournament format works exactly the same as the FIFA World Cup, only for clubs.

The 32 teams will be divided into eight groups of four teams with the top two teams in each group qualifying to the knockout stage.

The last 16 stage then moves to the quarter-final, semi-final and then final – but there is not third-placed play-off between the two losing semi-final teams.