KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTS: The FIFA Council has unanimously appointed the United States as the host of the new, expanded 32-team FIFA Club World Cup in 2025.

The tournament will serve, handily, as a test event for the US a year ahead of its cohosting, with Canada and Mexico, of the expanded, 48-team World Cup.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be the pinnacle of elite professional men’s club football, and with the required infrastructure in place together with a massive local interest, the United States is the ideal host to kick off this new, global tournament.

“With some of the world’s top clubs already qualified, fans from every continent will be bringing their passion and energy to the United States in two years’ time for this significant milestone in our mission to make football truly global.” 

The expansion of the Club World Cup was controversial enough already without being squeezed into the calendar in the middle of World Cup qualifying and ahead of 2025-26 season which must start early and be squeezed in any case to take account of the 2026 extravaganza.

A FIFA statement said:

The decision was reached based on the United States’ position as a proven leader in staging global events and because it would allow FIFA to maximise synergies with the delivery of the FIFA World Cup 2026™, to the benefit of both tournaments and the development of football in the North American region.

As a next step, FIFA will engage with the relevant stakeholders to finalise the dates, venues and match schedule of this new tournament . . . The slot allocation per confederation and the key principles of access were already confirmed by the FIFA Council earlier this year.

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