While even-numbered years bring the world the FIFA World Cup, the Euros and the Summer Olympics, odd-numbered years are normally glossed over when it comes to soccer competitions. That may change this summer, not with a new international soccer tournament but with an enhanced version of an existing one—the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which will be held every four years going forward, and whose organizer hopes will become a must-see event for global soccer fans, just as the FIFA World Cup is quadrennially.
What’s New About It?
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will run from June 14 to July 13 and will be hosted by 11 cities in the United States. The event has been around, albeit to minimal fanfare, since 2000, but this year it’s both the first to take place during the summer, and it’s the first to have 32 teams. Previous editions were usually held in December and had seven teams, as was the case of the last Club World Cup in 2023, won by Manchester City.The format will resemble what fans are accustomed to: eight groups of four, with the teams within each group facing off. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage with a Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and then a championship game.
