2029 FIFA Club World Cup: News & General Discussion [multiple Rs]

Obviously not my point, but Could not agree more on that quoted part though, Camp-Nou definitely deserves to be the Spanish stadium in front, not that small stadium in Madrid lol.

 

Moving to 48 teams won;t change much about the impact of the CWC like making it biennial would have done because holding a club competition once every four years is largely nonsensical.

However I think that after the 2029 edition there will be a further push to move it to a biennial basis because commercially and sporting-wise it will continue to lack mainstream significance.

 

I don't see a big win from either a commercial or sporting-wise/competitive angle by making it biennial. The same major problem exists either way and we all know what that is.

Ironically, the whole CWC idea probably would have been easier to sell 60 years ago. Now that people all over the world can watch every match of big UEFA clubs and even see them in person as international travel has become a lot easier and cheaper, the CWC has limited added value. Also, the mystique of seeing a Santos or Boca Juniors for non-South Americans simply doesn''t exist anymore.

 

I was thinking that people globally would be able to watch their local or continental clubs play European clubs on a semi-regular basis.

Then there is the fact that to play in the CWC a player doesn't have to play club football in Europe which could lead to more of an equitable spread of talent around the world.

Each continent's premier club competition - which are the gateways to the CWC - could also see increased fan engagement as a consequence of their importance being increased.

We shouldn't forget that in addition to its 4.75bn population, 60% of global youth is in Asia. That's a huge market for Asian football to exploit.

 

We'll see. Now that we've had some time to reflect on the 2025 CWC, it seems nobody cares or remembers that Chelsea won. When you see PSG you immediately think 'the defending UCL champions'. When you see Chelsea, you just think 'fighting for top 4 in EPL'.

If a non-UEFA team wins the CWC it will probably leave a different and lasting impression, but how likely is that?

 

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup generated significant financial returns. With a total prize pool of $1 billion, the tournament provided substantial earnings for participating clubs. The distribution included $475 million for participation fees and $525 million based on performance, ensuring even lower-ranked teams received millions. Chelsea, for instance, earned approximately $114.6 million after winning the tournament, while Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) received about $106.9 million for their runner-up finish

 

Generated is misleading, it was mainly subsidised by Saudi Arabia's $1bn investment in DAZN in order to fund the global media rights.

Of course Saudi Arabia has a vested interest for the CWC to eclipse the UCL.

 

Yep, beat me to it. Until the oil money rolled in, the projected prize money for the competing teams was paltry.

 

For this competition to have a viable future it has to be seen globally as more prestigious to the competitions beneath it - the premier continental club competitions, including the UCL - in the same way that the UCL is regarded a more prestigious to European domestic leagues, including the EPL.

To achieve that you need it to be bigger, held more regularly and have qualification based on a ranking which is constantly updated rather than winning a continental title (which you could reward with bonus ranking points).

 

But its not as simple as 'going bigger and playing more often'.

FIFA's grave error with club world cups is that their entire strategy since 2009 (at least) has been driven by what will bring in the most money soonest. They should have instead focused on building a solid foundation first and then the money will follow.

In that sense, the previous (but still exists ) idea of having only champions from each region wasn't terrible. They got some big crowds and nice atmospheres at games in the 2000 CWC and even the 2005 CWC considering it was something new. But then they moved it to Qatar, UAE or similar places with dead atmosphere and empty stadiums. Whose gonna watch that at 11:00am on a Wednesday morning in December?

The event got so stale that when they brought the CWC back to Japan, they couldn't replicate the crowds that they got for the 2005-2008 tournaments held there.

But where do they care most about this competition? ANS: South America. How about staging the CWC annually in the city/stadium of the Copa Libertadores champion? Just at first, and just 6-8 teams until the tournament grows into something attractive. The timezone is more convenient, and people will be more likely to be drawn in when they see bigger crowds and good atmosphere on TV.

But guess that takes too much time so they're just gonna push for 48- then 64-team CWC played every 4, 2 then 1 year in whatever country promises the most money to FIFA. RIP.

 

It allows Infantino to virtually guarantee spots to two of his darling associations. The USSF and Saudi Arabian Football Federation.

Of course, both of these already get "help" at the confederation level. Be it the USA only hosted Leagues Cup, supercharging MLS participation in the Concacaf Champions Cup - or the Saudi only hosted "final eight" in the AFC Champions League.

 

Mexico also wants to host?
https://www.soyfutbol.com/en/news/m...y-raising-its-hand-to-fifa-20260304-0004.html

 

Mexico again shows interest in hosting 2029:
https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/dep...exico-para-recibir-el-mundial-de-clubes-2029/

 

Club World Cup likely to expand for 2029 with more Premier League clubs involved | Club World Cup | The Guardian

Ridiculous. Just ridiculous.

 

The last article I read about this competition was about FIFA wanting to expand it to feature 48 clubs and to hold it biennially or even annually which is their ultimate aim.

As I have said before, to have mainstream significance it has to be held annually because that is the rhythm on which club football is based.

I am expecting some kind of announcement about the shape of the the IMC post-2030 WC in the autumn - negotiations have been ongoing for at least a year as revealed by Infantino himself last October - with FIFA wanting to hold the WC and Club WC in the Spring or Autumn rather than the traditional June-July period because then you can play anywhere in the world at the same time without having climate concerns. Obviously that will cause another battle between FIFA on one hand and UEFA / European Leagues on the other, but perhaps it is a battle FIFA has already won (the clue here might be the new MoU signed between FIFA-Fifpro just before the WC, leading Fifpro to withdraw from all current legal proceedings against FIFA which principally concern the expanded Club WC).

Imagine the effect on global football if - from 2031 - a 48-team annual Club WC is held in the Spring or Autumn, probably featuring a Swiss-model format.

 

Don't see how annual is feasible unless UCL is streamlined quite a bit.(?) So that means trading matches like PSG v Bayern for PSG v Club León.

FIFA sure knows how to give footie fans what they want.

 

If you cap all domestic leagues at 18 clubs you effectively knock a month off the club season when you can play the Club WC.

 

Not at all. The CWC group stage alone, which is a complete waste of time if 32 out of 48 teams advance, already pretty much cancels out the gains from reducing leagues to 18 teams.

Also, you're behaving like FIFA and not thinking about what you're suggesting.
What you're essentially suggesting is for every league to finish their season 1 month earlier. That means taking those leagues that already have 18 or fewer teams (i.e. almost every league) and condensing their schedule to align with the big 3 UEFA leagues and to finish in time for the CWC. You're also condensing the schedule of Champions League, EL, etc. , just so Al Ain can play Auckland in front of 2,000 people.

 

US in talks with Fifa over capitalising on World Cup success with 2029 Club World Cup | Club World Cup | The Guardian

This one really needs to go to Morocco/Spain (or Brazil) but anything is possible with Infantino. I fully expect another FIFA Council "decision" here.

 

People act surprised.

 

If Infantino loses the presidency I expect this competition won't be held any more.

 

¡Double yay!

 

Europe’s top clubs threatened Club World Cup boycott before Fifa plan collapsed:
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...ed-club-world-cup-boycott-fifa-plan-collapsed