Everything we know about the Club World Cup
The 2025 Club World Cup is still about eight months away and many of the details have yet to be revealed, but on Saturday FIFA finally announced that Seattle would be one of 11 host cities and Lumen Field one of the 12 stadiums.
Here’s everything else we know so far (we’ll update this post as we learn more):
How many games will be in Seattle?
We actually don’t know how many games in total will be played here, but we do know that all three of the Seattle Sounders’ group-stage games will be at Lumen Field. I would think there will be additional games played here that don’t involve the Sounders, but there’s been nothing official on that front.
Update (Oct. 15): Turns out, there will be six total games in Seattle. That will be the three group stage games involving the Sounders, and three additional games involving other teams. The assumption is that all of those will be group stage games, with two total groups stationed on the West Coast.
Will Sounders fans get early access to tickets?
No promises, but the Sounders say they are actively working with FIFA to at least get priority access to season-ticket holders and Alliance Members. That doesn’t mean a game will be included in season-ticket packages, but it might mean you can get your seats for the games.
When are the games?
The tournament will run June 15-July 13, 2025. While no announcements have been made, it would stand to reason that the group stage will last about 10 days.
When will we learn more details?
The draw will answer most of the remaining questions, as that will let us know who and when the Sounders will be playing. That’s supposed to occur sometime in December.
Update (Nov. 11): The draw will be held on Dec. 5 at 10 AM in Miami.
Is there going to be grass?
You can rest assured that Lumen Field will have grass. My very strong suspicion is that it will be temporary unless First & Goal suddenly decides that it makes sense to just get ahead of the 2026 Men’s World Cup and install the permanent stuff a year early, but I’m not holding my breath on that.
Who else is participating?
As of now 30 of 32 spots are filled. The two unfilled spots will go to the host country – an MLS team – and the winner of this year’s Copa Libertadores. Among the teams who have qualified are some of the biggest clubs in the world. Here’s the full list:
AFC (4): Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan), Al Ain (UAE), Ulsan HD (South Korea)
CAF (4): Al Ahly (Egypt), Wydad AC (Morocco), Esperence de Tunis (Tunisia), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
Concacaf (4): Sounders (USA), Monterrey (Mexico), Léon (Mexico), Pachuca (Mexico)
CONMEBOL (5): Palmeiras (Brazil), Flamengo (Brazil), Fluminense (Brazil), Boca Juniors (Argentina), River Plate (Argentina)
OFC (1): Auckland City (New Zealand)
UEFA (12): Chelsea (England), Real Madrid (Spain), Manchester City (England), Bayern Munich (Germany), Paris Saint-Germain (France), Inter Milan (Italy), Porto (Portugal), Benfica (Portugal), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Juventus (Italy), Atletico Madrid (Spain), RB Salzburg (Austria)
How did teams qualify?
Most of them qualified by winning their respective Champions League or equivalent tournaments. But 13 of them earned their spot by virtue of their federation ranking over the course of four years.
Who gets the “host” spot?
That has not yet been revealed. Traditionally that spot goes to the domestic league’s champion. While the MLS Cup is the recognized league champion, there’s a logic and financial incentive to pick the Supporters’ Shield winner, too. The logic is it follows the more traditional model of choosing a champion. The financial incentive is that the Shield winner is likely to be Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami. There are also reports that they could stage a one-game playoff between the MLS Cup and Shield winners.
Which other cities are hosting?
- Atlanta - Mercedes Benz Stadium
- Charlotte, N.C. - Bank of America Stadium
- Cincinnati, Ohio - TQL Stadium
- Pasadena - Rose Bowl Stadium
- Miami - Hard Rock Stadium
- Nashville, Tenn. - Geodis Park
- East Rutherford, N.J. - MetLife Stadium
- Orlando, Fla. - Camping World Stadium and Inter&Co Stadium
- Philadelphia - Lincoln Financial Field
- Washington, D.C. - Audi Field
What’s an ideal draw look like for Sounders?
There will be eight groups, which means every group will have at least one UEFA team. My suspicion is that it will be set up so each group either has two UEFA teams or at least one South American team, with the others being sprinkled around more randomly.
There are two schools of thought here as far as an ideal draw goes: 1. Get the biggest teams possible and hope you can pack in crowds; 2. Get some lesser-known teams and hope you can get out of the group which would guarantee an additional game.
Here are examples of what I imagine the group could look like:
- Big-names: Real Madrid, Juventus, Al Ahly, Sounders
- More manageable: RB Salzburg, Fluminense, Auckland, Sounders
There’s virtually no chance the Sounders get out of that first group, but they might sell out two of them. They might not sell out any of the games in that second group, but they’d probably get out of it and then potentially have a fourth match against a big-name opponent.
How seriously are these teams going to take it?
Even in the past tournaments that were not nearly this involved, the top teams would use their starters mainly because the prize money is very real. The South American teams are also particularly motivated to test themselves against the top European teams.
The variable here is the group stage, which never existed before. As this will be coming at the end of the European season, it’s possible we’ll see some rotation, but the prize money will probably smooth over some of that. Clubs with American owners – like Chelsea – are especially invested
The Sounders are certainly doing their best to hype up the tournament; they were just itching to talk about it after Saturday’s win over the Houston Dynamo. I think we can assume they’ll take it very seriously.
Does that mean signing some players specifically to help them compete?
That would certainly be nice, but as of yet there’s been not specific assurances about increased spending ahead of the tournament, and they obviously weren’t in any hurry to get a head start on that when they decided not to sign anyone this last summer. I’ll say this, if the Sounders expect fans to get excited about this tournament, they need to put some real resources into it as well. They can’t just repeat “this is a once-in-a-lifetime event” while going about their normal business.
Is it possible that European players actually strike?
There have been rumors of something like that – the players are pushing back against extreme fixture congestion – and FIFPRO apparently gives players the legal authority to call a strike. Not to diminish their complaints – it will be possible for players to feature in as many as 85 games in 2025 – I suspect that if the money is there, players aren’t going to walk away from it.
How much money is on the line?
We don’t know. There were rumors that each team was going to get a $50 million appearance fee, but that has effectively been debunked. I suppose some of the big teams might get that much just for showing up, but there’s no way teams like the Sounders will get a guarantee like that.
What else don’t we know?
We obviously don’t know who anyone is playing or even exactly how the draw is going to be structured. We don’t know how many games will be played in various stadiums or who will host which rounds, either. That’s all going to get figured out in the draw. We definitely don’t know how much tickets are going to cost. We don’t even know who will be broadcasting all of this, as sponsors apparently didn’t like the idea of Apple taking it all online.
Is it possible this doesn’t happen?
Until the games actually kick off, I suppose there’s always the possibility of it being canceled, but everyone I’ve talked to has given that virtually no chance of happening. The main reason is that FIFA really wants this to happen and unlike virtually every other sports organization on earth, they can just sort of make it happen by sheer force of will. FIFA has plenty of money and if its officials believe this is a good investment, it won’t matter that no one is meeting their media rights asking price or sponsors aren’t signing on at the rates they want. FIFA officials apparently think this has the potential to be even bigger than the World Cup, so they’re extremely motivated to make it happen.