Future FIFA Club World Cup (China)

The future FIFA Club World Cup in China is scheduled to be an upcoming edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament contested by clubs from the six continental confederations. The tournament will be the first under a new expanded format which features 24 teams, and will take place in China.[1]

FIFA Club World Cup
Tournament details
Host countryChina
DatesTBD
Teams24 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)8 (in 8 host cities)

The tournament was originally scheduled to take place from 17 June to 4 July 2021. However, FIFA will postpone the tournament to a later year, possibly 2022 or 2023, as a result of the rescheduling of the UEFA European Championship and Copa América, which were postponed from mid-2020 to mid-2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][3]

Background

As early as late 2016, FIFA president Gianni Infantino suggested an initial expansion of the Club World Cup to 32 teams beginning in 2019 and to be rescheduled to June/July to be more balanced and more attractive to broadcasters and sponsors.[4] In late 2017, FIFA discussed proposals to expand the competition to 24 teams and have it be played every four years by 2021, replacing the FIFA Confederations Cup.[5]

On 15 March 2019, the new format and schedule of Club World Cup was confirmed at the FIFA Council meeting in Miami, Florida, United States.[1] Following the international window from 31 May to 8 June 2021 (for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification and the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals), the tournament was scheduled take place from 17 June to 4 July, replacing the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup. The 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup would then be allotted a window from 5 to 31 July 2021 in the FIFA International Match Calendar.[6][7]

However, the European Club Association was opposed to the decision, proposing that European clubs boycott the new competition.[6]

Host appointment

For the pilot edition of the expanded Club World Cup format, FIFA announced on 3 June 2019 that they would analyse and proactively approach potential hosts.[8] China were unanimously chosen as the hosts of the tournament by the FIFA Council at their meeting in Shanghai, China on 24 October 2019.[9][10]

COVID-19 pandemic and postponement
See also: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on association football

In March 2020, both the UEFA European Championship and Copa América, planned for June and July 2020, were postponed until June and July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the new tournament dates coincided with the planned Club World Cup, FIFA announced that the revamped Club World Cup would be rescheduled to later in 2021, in 2022 or in 2023.[2][3] On 4 December 2020, FIFA announced that a Club World Cup would be held in late 2021 and hosted by Japan, and would use the previous seven-team format.[11] Following the meeting, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said that the expanded Club World Cup in China was "still on the agenda, we just have not decided when it will take place".[12]

Slot allocation

The slot allocation was confirmed on 24 October 2019.[9][13] The selection process for the tournament participants will be decided following a consultation between FIFA and the six confederations.[10]

  • AFC (Asia): 2.5 (two of which will be allocated to the finalists of the AFC Champions League and the half slot will be contested in a play-off between the two losing semi-finalists)[14]
  • CAF (Africa): 3 (will be allocated to the top three teams of the CAF Champions League)[15]
  • CONCACAF (North, Central America and the Caribbean): 3
  • CONMEBOL (South America): 6
  • OFC (Oceania): 0.5
  • UEFA (Europe): 8
  • Host nation: 1 (will be allocated to the winner of the Chinese Super League, with FIFA to decide the course of action should they qualify through the AFC Champions League)[14]

Venues

On 28 December 2019, the Chinese Football Association announced eight cities to host the tournament.[16]

Dalian Guangzhou
Hangzhou Jinan
       
Capacity: Capacity: Capacity: Capacity:
       
Shenyang Shanghai Wuhan Tianjin
       
Capacity: Capacity: Capacity: Capacity:
       

Format

The tournament will feature 24 teams, with a play-off between the OFC representative and the 3rd-best Asian team (other than China's champion club, which automatically qualifies as host country representative) to determine the final entrant.[14] The teams will be split into eight groups of three teams each. The winners of the eight groups will advance to the quarter-finals, which will use a knockout format to determine the champions.[1]

References
  1. "FIFA Council votes for the introduction of a revamped FIFA Club World Cup". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  2. "Statement from the FIFA President". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  3. "Bureau of the FIFA Council decisions concerning impact of COVID-19". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  4. "FIFA boss suggests 32-team Club World Cup in 2019". CBC Sports. CBC. AP. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  5. "FIFA considering 24-team Club World Cup to be played in summer". ESPN. AP. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  6. "Fifa Club World Cup: Revised tournament approved despite top European clubs saying they will boycott". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  7. Harris, Rob (13 March 2019). "FIFA wants 24-team Club World Cup in 2021". APNews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  8. "FIFA Council appoints Qatar as host of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019 and 2020". FIFA.com (Press release). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 3 June 2019. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  9. "Agenda of meeting no. 11 of the FIFA Council" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  10. "FIFA Council unanimously appoints China PR as hosts of new Club World Cup in 2021". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  11. "FIFA Council passes landmark reforms for female players and coaches, agrees further steps in COVID-19 response". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  12. "FIFA extends 7-team Club World Cup to 2021; Japan to host". Associated Press. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  13. Harris, Rob (23 October 2019). "FIFA inviting some non-champions to enlarged Club World Cup". Associated Press. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  14. "AFC Executive Committee enhances future AFC Asian Cups". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  15. "CAF Holds Executive Committee Meeting ahead of CAN Total U-23 Final". CAFonline.com. Confederation of African Football. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  16. "2021世俱杯承办城市出炉 上海等8座城市携手办赛". Chinese Football Association (in Chinese). 28 December 2019.
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