FIFA approves of expanded CWC in 2025 with Chelsea and Real Madrid qualifying

FIFA has approved plans for an expanded Club World Cup in 2025, with Chelsea and Real Madrid handed automatic qualification spots.

The current format of the tournament involves seven teams competing for the title, but FIFA president Gianni Infantino revealed plans in December for an expanded 32-team tournament from June 2025.

As the last two winners of the Champions League, Chelsea, and Real Madrid will be guaranteed a spot in the tournament and two more spots will be issued to the 2023 and 2024 Champions League winners.

As the Copa Libertadores is currently due to be held in November, South American clubs would not have finished their qualification tournaments in time to qualify for the new Club World Cup that year.

Football's world governing body had originally planned to introduce a 24-team tournament in 2021, before the COVID-19 pandemic thwarted an anticipated inaugural edition in China, but an even bigger competition will take place every four years.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the World Cup final in December, Infantino said the expanded tournament would be “like a World Cup”.

The international match calendar will be altered from 2025, with one extended break taking in four matches in late September and early October replacing two separate windows in September and October.

The governing body said that the other windows — in November, March and June — would remain unchanged.

Since taking over from Sepp Blatter in 2016, Infantino has sought to expand the Club World Cup and add to the pool of teams.

Speaking in 2016, he said: “Today football is not just about Europe and South America. The world has changed and that's why we need to make the Club World Cup more interesting for teams, and also for fans around the world.”

Real Madrid are the current holders of the Club World Cup after defeating Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal last month to win the trophy for a record fifth time.