Mbappe promises to shine at the FIFA Club World Cup - Photo: REUTERS
Both projects share the same goal of encouraging the development of middle-class football.
The early years were boring
The FIFA Club World Cup is a very old idea, with the first edition of the tournament being launched in 2000. There were eight teams competing that year, with two from South America, two from Europe and four other clubs from Africa, Asia, Australia and North America - Caribbean.
Real Madrid and Manchester United were the two European representatives in that year’s tournament. Despite their superior strength, neither team made it to the final. As a result, Corinthians beat Vasco Da Gama in the final to win the championship and a prize of 6 million euros. But Real Madrid, despite finishing fourth, still received 3 million euros. Manchester United even received 2.5 million euros despite failing to advance beyond the group stage.
That year's FIFA Club World Cup took place in January. As this was right after the winter break for European football, every team was preparing for the extremely fierce second leg.
So it’s understandable why both Real Madrid and Man United went to Brazil (the hosts) that year with a take it or leave it attitude. They had to play 5 matches and win the final to receive 6 million euros. But if they were eliminated early, they would still receive 2.5 million euros and only have to play 3 matches. That 3.5 million euro difference was only enough for Real Madrid to pay Luis Figo’s salary for about 3 months.
FIFA Strategy
In general, the FIFA Club World Cup over the past two decades has only existed as a friendly tournament, serving as a decoration for the trophy rooms of major football teams.
FIFA had a clear principle in organizing the FIFA Club World Cup when the tournament was launched in 2000, and then started taking place annually when it returned in 2005. That is, it was never held in Europe. After Brazil, the FIFA Club World Cup took place for 4 consecutive years (2005 - 2008) in Japan, then moved to the UAE for the next 2 years, then Japan again, then Morocco, UAE, Qatar, UAE, Morocco, Saudi Arabia...
That is FIFA's understandable strategy. Generally, countries with less developed football will welcome the tournament more warmly than Europe - where there are plenty of top-notch competitions. Not to mention that organizing the tournament in another continent generally makes it difficult for European representatives, in order to balance the tournament.
Historical milestone
It was not until the fourth edition (2007) that the FIFA Club World Cup welcomed a champion from Europe, when AC Milan defeated Boca Juniors 4-2 in the final. Later on, the European giants showed their overwhelming strength, winning a total of 16/20 editions.
But that just makes the FIFA Club World Cup boring. The big European teams are there just to add to their perfect year, after winning the Champions League. The prize money and commercial effects are almost negligible.
The FIFA Club World Cup continued to languish until FIFA decided to reform the tournament in 2019. That year, FIFA finalized a plan to create a 32-team version of the tournament with the same number of slots allocated to each continent as the World Cup for national teams.
To complete its grand reform, FIFA created the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. This tournament will take place annually on the same scale as before - only about 6 teams, the continental champions of the year. The FIFA Club World Cup will take place every 4 years, becoming a macro version of the club football world.
The new edition of the FIFA Club World Cup was scheduled to begin in China in 2021. But the COVID-19 pandemic caused the tournament to be canceled and pushed back to 2025. And this time, the United States is hosting. A little late, but that's okay. The important thing is that the football world is finally welcoming a historic tournament.
Does the FIFA Club World Cup really have that impact? Absolutely.
PSG is one of the teams participating in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup - Photo: REUTERS
When FIFA "ties" European giants
Look at how the 2002 World Cup boosted Korean and Japanese football. The FIFA Club World Cup created such an opportunity for North American and Asian clubs to face European giants in real top-level matches, not the friendly tournament version as before.
In the new version, the attitude of European giants has changed significantly. Look at the reaction of Real Madrid. They are willing to pay 10 million euros to own rookie Trent Alexander-Arnold 1 month early, to have his service in the FIFA Club World Cup. Why is Real Madrid willing to spend so much? Because just by participating in this playground, they have received at least 35 million euros in bonuses, and the most can be up to 110 million euros.
Everything has its price. FIFA has tied the big European clubs to the clause of "bringing the best squad to the tournament". No one complains, because here they receive the same amount of prize money as in the Champions League.
It is no exaggeration to say that the FIFA Club World Cup has created a historic milestone for football. After more than two decades, the world of football has truly welcomed a tournament version with the meaning of "Club World Cup".
Messi wears Inter Miami shirt to play in the opening match of the tournament - Photo: REUTERS
Messi's Inter Miami will play the opening match
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will take place from June 14 (local time) to July 13. The tournament will feature 32 teams, with UEFA providing a total of 12 representatives. Next is South America (CONMEBOL) with 6 spots, North and Central America - Caribbean (CONCACAF) with 4 official spots and 1 additional host spot. Asia and Africa have 4 spots each, while Australia has 1 spot.
Messi's Inter Miami will host the tournament and will kick off the tournament against Al Ahly. The tournament will be played in a similar way to the old World Cup format, with 32 teams divided into 8 groups, then entering the knockout stage...
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/fifa-club-world-cup-se-thay-doi-lang-bong-da-20250603095359024.htm
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