FIFA to name 8 Club World Cup venues Saturday
FIFA is set to announce the venues for the 2025 Club World Cup on Saturday at the Global Citizen Festival in New York City, world soccer’s governing body said Friday.
The tournament will take place from June 15 to July 13 next year across eight stadiums in the United States. Sources previously told ESPN that the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, stood among the venues selected to host games.
Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando, Florida), Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta), Hard Rock Stadium (Miami), Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia), Red Bull Arena (Harrison, New Jersey), MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey) and Lumen Field (Seattle) are also set to be announced on Saturday, sources told ESPN.
ESPN previously reported that the Club World Cup will be primarily played on the East Coast of the United States to avoid any clash with 2025 Gold Cup matches being centered on the country’s West Coast from June 14 to July 6.
The Seattle Sounders’ qualification to the Club World Cup complicated the logistics, prompting FIFA to include Lumen Field as a host venue, sources told ESPN.
FIFA has faced backlash from other entities in soccer for the organization of this tournament, including FIFPRO and the Professional Footballers’ Association in England, as many raise concerns over schedule congestion and an increase in games. The Premier League, in particular, questioned the timing of the tournament during the summer window, a timeframe normally used for international windows, sources commented to ESPN.
Despite concerns, FIFA president Gianni Infantino greenlit the competition for 2025 and implemented several changes. The upcoming edition of the competition will now see 32 teams compete, after FIFA announced an expansion from its seven-club format in 2023
Twelve European teams, including Real Madrid and Manchester City, will represent UEFA at the competition, with six South American clubs filling the CONMEBOL slots. Asia (AFC), Africa (CAF) and North & Central America (Concacaf) each get four clubs with Oceania (OFC) given one berth and a final position going to the U.S. as host nation.
Information from ESPN’s Mark Ogden contributed to this report.
