Answering all your questions on the Club World Cup 2025
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FIFA's new-look Club World Cup kicks off on Saturday and Ladbrokes brings you all you need to know about the tournament.
The 2025 edition will be the first of the new format of the tournament, which will see 32 teams from all across the world compete every four years for the trophy.
So how do you qualify for the Club World Cup? Why are big teams like Liverpool and Barcelona not involved? And what is the prize for the winner? Here are all your burning questions answered.
FIFA Club World Cup 2025 FAQs
Where are the clubs taking part in the Club World Cup from?
The Club World Cup is made up of 32 of the best-ranking teams from all six of world football's governing bodies, making it an eclectic mix of sides from all across the globe.
Those teams are made up of 12 from UEFA (Europe), six from CONMEBOL (South America), four from each of AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa) and CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), one from OFC (Oceania) and one from host nation USA.
When does the Club World Cup start and finish?
The Club World Cup begins on Sunday, 15 June at 1am UK time when Al Ahly take on Lionel Messi's Inter Miami at the Hard Rock Stadium, with roughly four games taking place per day before the group stage concludes on Friday, 27 June.
The round of 16 starts a day later with the final taking place on 13 July at the MetLife Stadium.
You can check out the full schedule for the Club World Cup here as well as the tournament preview.
Which European clubs will feature and how did they qualify?
FIFA has handed 12 spots to European clubs - at least double any other confederation - with a number of the continent's heavyweight clubs involved.
The last four Champions League winners have automatically qualified, which are Real Madrid - who won it twice during that period - as well as Chelsea and Manchester City.
Eight places were intended to be given to the next best non-Champions League-winning teams but that figure is now nine due to Real's double Champions League triumph.
- Chelsea (England) - 2021 Champions League winners
- Real Madrid (Spain) - 2022 and 2024 Champions League winners
- Manchester City (England) - 2023 Champions League winners
- Bayern Munich (Germany) - Best non-Champions League winners
- Paris St-Germain (France) - Second best non-Champions League winners
- Borussia Dortmund (Germany) - Third best non-Champions League winners
- Inter Milan (Italy) - Fourth best non-Champions League winners
- Porto (Portugal) - Fifth best non-Champions League winners*
- Atletico Madrid (Spain) - Sixth best non-Champions League winners*
- Benfica (Portugal) - Seventh best non-Champions League winners*
- Juventus (Italy) - Eighth best non-Champions League winners*
Why are Liverpool and Barcelona not involved, but Chelsea are?
Only two teams from one nation can be involved - unless more won their respective confederation's continental competition during that period.
That has prevented Premier League champions Liverpool from taking part despite ranking as the fifth-best non-Champions League winner overall, with 2021 and 2023 winners Chelsea and City filling the English quota.
Barcelona scooped up LaLiga titles during that period - including in 2024/25 - but are also not on the billing due to both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid out-performing them in Europe during that time period.
A difficult period in the club's history saw them twice fail to make it out of the group in the Champions League, while their Spanish rivals consistently competed in the latter stages of the competition.
Red Bull Salzburg are the lowest-ranked European side in the competition at 15th.
Despite Liverpool, RB Leipzig, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and AC Milan all ranking higher than Salzburg, the Austrian side have benefitted from the fact those sides already had two teams from their country competing.
Will the clubs use their best players at the Club World Cup?
FIFA have introduced regulations which will force teams to name as strong a squad as possible at the tournament, avoiding the likelihood of any stars players being rested.
A special temporary transfer window was also introduced between June 1-10 to ensure squads are as strong as possible for the tournament.
During that period, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Hujsen joined Real Madrid and are set to feature in the United States, with Liam Delap one of five new signings arriving at Chelsea.
City, meanwhile, will have the likes of Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Tijjani Reijnders in their ranks.
You can check out Ladbrokes' odds for the top goalscorer at the competition, with Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe the current favourites.
What is the prize money for the Club World Cup?
The winners of the Club World Cup could rake in a whopping £97million, giving clubs a huge incentive to take the competition seriously.
The overall prize fund, shared between all 32 teams based on different factors, will be £775m, with £407m divided between all participating clubs and £368m awarded on a performance-related basis.
When will clubs submit their squads for the Club World Cup?
The deadline for clubs to submit their final squads for the Club World Cup was on June 10, though several teams have not made their selections public as yet.
Recent reports suggest Man City's squad will not include Jack Grealish, who is expected to leave this summer with Everton, Tottenham and Aston Villa reportedly chasing the forward.
Clubs can then make limited changes to their final lists between June 27 to July 3, should the member's association have a transfer window open during that time.
Can I bet on the Club World Cup?
How do I watch the Club World Cup?
View the latest football odds.
All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.
