Reigning champions Manchester City have been paired with Juventus for next summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, while Chelsea have been drawn in the same group as Flamengo.
City will also play UAE’s Al Ain and face Morocco’s Wydad AC in the opening match of Group G.
Chelsea will face Esperance Sportive de Tunis in Group D in addition to Flamengo in Rio and open their Club World Cup campaign against Mexico’s Leon.
The new 32-team competition, to be hosted in the US next summer, has been spearheaded by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but is the subject of two legal challenges in Europe, both involving the players’ union, FIFPRO.
City and Chelsea have qualified as Champions League winners for 2023 and 2021, but were separated in the group stage draw under FIFA’s complex regional restrictions.
Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Manchester City’s Erling Holland can participate in the Club World Cup.
If both English clubs progress to the play-off stage as group winners, they will go into opposite sides of the draw and then not meet until the final.
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will open the tournament with a Group A clash against Al Ahly of Egypt at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on June 15. Palmeiras and Porto are the other teams that make up Group A.
The draw for next year’s tournament took place in Miami, it was conducted by Juventus and Italy legend Alessandro Del Piero.
The innovative FIFA Club World Cup trophy, designed by FIFA and developed in collaboration with global luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co, was unveiled for the first time by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and former Brazil forward Ronaldo ahead of the draw.
Club World Cup draw in full
Group A: Palmeiras (Brt), Porto (Por), Al Ahli (Mek), Inter Miami (USA)
Group B: “Paris Saint-Germain” (Fr), “Atletico Madrid” (Esp), “Botafogo” (Brts), “Seattle Sounders” (USA)
Group C: Bayern (Ger), Benfica (Por), Boca Juniors (Arg), Auckland City (Ncl)
Group D. Flamengo (Brz), Chelsea (Eng), Club Leon (Mexico), Esperance Sportive de Tunis (Tun)
Group E: River Plate (Arg), Inter Milan (Ita), Monterrey (Mexico), Urawa Red Diamonds (Jpn)
Group F: Fluminense (Brc), Borussia Dortmund (Ger), Ulsan HD (Kor), Mamelodi Sundowns (Rsa)
Group G. “Manchester City” (England), “Juventus” (Ita), “Waydad” (Moor), “Al Ain” (UAE)
Group H: Real Madrid (Esp), FC Salzburg (Aut), Al Hilal (Rsa), CF Pachuca (Mexico)
Trump: Football is going through the roof
Attendees at the FIFA Club World Cup in Miami watched a pre-recorded video message from US President-elect Donald Trump in which he said football was going “through the roof”.
Ivanka Trump, her husband, Jared Kushner, and their son, Theo, were among those at the event who formed groups for the expanded 32-team tournament to be held in the United States next year.
In his message, Trump complimented FIFA President Infantino.
He said: “I’ll try and be there if I can. We’ll see what happens. I just want to say that you’re led by a man named Gianni, and he’s a winner is the president and I am the president.
Donald Trump joked with FIFA President Gianni Infantino during his first term as US President in 2018.
“We’ve known each other for a long time and I’m honored to have that relationship because the football is going through the roof. As everyone knows, it’s going fantastically well.”
Trump also noted that the 2026 Men’s World Cup will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
“I want to say my highest regards to Gianni, and I’m honored to be with you, and we’ll be with you very soon,” Trump said.
“And we’re going to watch the World Cup, very important, very soon. And I was very responsible for getting it together with Gianni. And it’s going to be a fantastic thing.”
When is the 2025 Club World Cup?
“Manchester City” is the reigning champion of the World Club Championship
The Club World Cup will take place over 29 days in the summer of 2025.
The tournament starts on June 15, the final on July 13.
Where is the 2025 Club World Cup?
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Sky Sports Chief Correspondent Kave Solhekol explains why clubs should bring their strongest squads to the Club World Cup, how out-of-contract players can play next summer and how the special transfer window will be implemented.
The 2025 World Club Championship will take place in 12 stadiums in the USA.
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
- Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte)
- TQL Stadium (Cincinnati)
- Rose Bowl Stadium (Los Angeles)
- Hard Rock Stadium (Miami)
- GEODIS Park (Nashville)
- Camping World Stadium (Orlando)
- Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando)
- Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)
- Lumen Field (Seattle)
- Audi Field (Washington, DC)
What is the format of the Club World Cup?
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has reacted to the new FIFA Club World Cup rule that requires teams to bring their “strongest players” to the competition, saying only he knows who the strongest players are for his club.
The tournament format works exactly like the FIFA World Cup, only for clubs.
The 32 teams have been divided into eight groups of four teams, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the play-offs.
The Round of 16, the first singles round, then moves to the quarter-finals, semi-finals and then the final.There is no third-place playoff between the two losing teams in the semi-finals.
