<\/p>\n
The FIFA Club World Cup was once called \u201ca mistake\u201d by former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who knew a thing or two about mistakes given he was banned for fraud and corruption.<\/p>\n
But the governing body has undertaken a complete revamp of the tournament to not only shed that infamous moniker, but to make it a key pillar of the football calendar and a major money spinner.<\/p>\n
In the past, the FIFA Club World Cup operated quietly in the background.<\/p>\n
\ufeffWatch every game of The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n It was staged once a year, with seven teams around the world playing a short, sharp tournament that was more akin to pre-season friendlies for the European heavyweights.<\/p>\n Whereas now, it will be played every four years with 32 teams from Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, North America and South America gathering together in a celebration of the game like in the men\u2019s and women\u2019s FIFA World Cups.<\/p>\n The first edition of the new-look competition will be staged in the United States, which will also host next year\u2019s men\u2019s FIFA World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico, with Lionel Messi\u2019s Inter Miami kicking things off against Egypt\u2019s Al Ahly from 10am AEST on Sunday June 15.<\/p>\n Here is our comprehensive explainer on how the FIFA Club World Cup came to be, and how this year\u2019s expansion will play out.<\/i><\/p>\n READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n FEATURE: Putting up own nets… and playing for just 40 fans: Inside minnow set for $1.3bn \u2018David vs Goliath\u2019 battle<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n GROUP BY GROUP PREVIEWS: GROUP A<\/a>, GROUP B<\/a>, GROUP C,<\/a>GROUP D,<\/a><\/b>GROUP E <\/a>& GROUP F<\/a><\/b><\/b> GUIDE: Full FIFA Club World Cup 2025 schedule and new format explained<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n RUMOUR MILL: Race to complete $260m deadline day frenzy; PL deals that could shake-up CWC<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n MONEY, MONEY, MONEY<\/b><\/p>\n FIFA\u2019s motivations for the rebrand are multi-faceted.<\/p>\n There is a desire to spread the world game further around the globe, and there is also a strong desire to make more money. <\/p>\n They have offered a lot of it to encourage the clubs to be at their best, and not treat matches as friendlies as they have been guilty of in the past.<\/p>\n There has also been a special transfer window take place to allow clubs to sign new players prior to the tournament – Manchester City, for example, completed the signing of Rayan Ait Nouri from Wolves and are tipped to finalise deals for Rayan Cherki and Tijani Reijnders from Lyon and AC Milan respectively.<\/p>\n The total prize pool is US$1 billion (A$1.53b) for the 32 clubs with the winner to pocket a whopping US$125 million (A$191.68m).<\/p>\n US$525 million (A$805m) of the total prize purse will be divided up among the clubs purely for taking part, while the remainder of the prize money is performance based.<\/p>\n A club will be awarded US$2 million (A$3.07m) per group stage victory, and a US$1 million (A$1.53m) per draw in the group games.<\/p>\n There will no doubt be some owners of underdog clubs imploring their manager to park the bus to fatten their coffers.<\/p>\n \ufeffFIFA, of course, is keen on banking plenty of dollars themselves through broadcast and sponsorship earnings.<\/p>\n Somewhat remarkably, the global governing body gets a little bit left behind in the financial stakes.<\/p>\n Current FIFA president Gianni Infantino clearly believes it should be the richest sporting organisation on the planet, and this tournament can be one way to help become that.<\/p>\n From 2019 to 2022, the Union of European Football Associations made roughly US$19 billion (A$29.15b) compared to FIFA\u2019s US$7.6 billion (A$11.66b).<\/p>\n UEFA makes its money via the Champions League and the Euros, and then redistribute that wealth to its national federations and clubs, which FIFA believes widens inequality within the sport through Eurocentrism.<\/p>\n European teams use their wealth to buy and develop players, which in turn attracts fans, and fans bring money into the game.<\/p>\n As that cycle takes, the rest of the world gets left behind.<\/p>\n The English Premier League earns more than FIFA and redistributes that money to its 20 clubs, making promotion so lucrative and relegation so deflating.<\/p>\n Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas supply the UEFA Champions League and the English Premier League with players but reap no rewards from it.<\/p>\n Infantino wants the clubs from those confederations to grow financially.<\/p>\n Ronaldo STARS as Portugal win trophy! | 01:09<\/p>\n The tournament was originally slated for 2021, to be held in China, but the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to that.<\/p>\n It was also the revenue-raising idea for FIFA that was most welcomed after ideas of making FIFA World Cups biennial and staging a global nations league, like what UEFA holds, were strongly opposed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe say football, soccer, is a global sport,\u201d Infantino told Yahoo Sports. <\/p>\n \u201cBut actually, if you scratch the surface, you see that the elite is very much concentrated in very few clubs in very few countries.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to bring it to the entire world.\u201d<\/p>\n Sherwood chats Spurs after Ange sacking | 01:07<\/p>\n DOMINATING THE CALENDAR<\/b><\/p>\n Part of the vision for the new-look FIFA Club World Cup is to ensure that football continues to be pride of place year round, and bring in the revenue that comes with that.<\/p>\n The introduction of the FIFA Club World Cup into the four-year cycle ensures that every northern hemisphere summer, while Europe\u2019s biggest leagues take a break, there will be a major tournament.<\/p>\n Last year, it was the Olympic Games in Paris and the Euros in Germany.<\/p>\n This year, it is the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.<\/p>\n Next year, it will be the men\u2019s FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n In 2027, it will be the women\u2019s FIFA World Cup in Brazil.<\/p>\n And so the cycle will repeat.<\/p>\n Ryan used Socceroos axing as motivation | 01:11<\/p>\n Like those tournaments, the FIFA Club World Cup will run for almost a month exactly with the final to be played at MetLife Stadium, home of the NFL\u2019s New York Jets and New York Giants on Monday July 14 AEST.<\/p>\n The showpiece match of the tournament will also have an NFL-feel to it with Coldplay\u2019s Chris Martin curating a half-time show, like the Super Bowl, featuring Colombian singer J Balvin, American rapper and signer Doja Cat and Nigerian singer Tems.<\/p>\n When it comes to the actual football, the tournament has been designed to feel like a FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n Thirty-two teams have been divided into eight groups for four with the top two teams from each ground advancing to the knockout rounds.<\/p>\n The Round of 16 will be followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final, with upsets and dramatic moments set to captivate fans, just as they do at the FIFA World Cups.<\/p>\n Unfortunately for Australian fans, there are no A-League teams in the tournament as none performed well enough in the Asian Champions League to qualify.<\/p>\n