Arsenal & Chelsea get new Club World Cup incentive as FIFA makes $135m decision

Club World Cup news as FIFA plan for fresh 2025 tournament format with increased incentive for Arsenal to qualify and Chelsea to make the most of their chance

Arsenal have just one season of Champions League football to propel themselves into qualification for the newest European club tournament, the FIFA Club World Cup.

Although the competition itself is not new, from 2025 there is a fresh format which will be completely different to the current set-up. Chelsea, by virtue of winning the 2021 Champions League, are already qualified.

In the current format the winners of each of the six continental competitions - UEFA, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, AFC, CAF, OFC - face off in a designated host country in December each year. Often won by the Champions League holder at the time - as Real Madrid did in 2022 and Chelsea in 2021 - the tournament has three entry stages.

The past winners involved will be Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid with another slot reserved for the winners of the 2023/24 Champions League, while on current coefficient rankings, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Manchester United, Inter, Leipzig, Sevilla and Roma would make up the final eight places - this means that Arsenal have only this year to get themselves in the ring for the competition

The competition will take place in years when there are no major international tournaments planned, though with the format currently pencilled in for June-July 2025, it looks to clash with schedules for the 2025 Nations League finals in early June, a potential hinderance for players and organisers. There is an open summer window for matches to most players and the new Club World Cup is already being put near the top of FIFA's marketing plans.

Given the start-up of a new format, FIFA are aiming for a big boost to revenue streams, including sponsorships. The governing body is targeting £108million ($135million) as a fee from each global partner, football.london understands.

The Qatar World Cup attracted huge partnerships including Adidas, Emirates, Hyundai, Sony, McDonalds, Continental and Budweiser, despite the controversy in the lead up to the event. The fee FIFA are looking for from their potential sponsors at the new Club World Cup is £12million ($15million) more than they asked for the international World Cup, football.london has also learnt.

It's a demonstration of just how much stock FIFA are putting towards this competition, which would be an effective Super League-style tournament, pitting the best against the best.