Club World Cup 2025 / Schedule, format, and group draw! Everything you need to know about the tournament

FIFA Club World Cup begins today (June 14) in the United States (June 15 Albanian time), with 32 teams competing for the title in the newly expanded intercontinental club tournament.

The 32 teams are divided into eight groups of four, with each team playing against the others in its group. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout rounds.

Unlike the FIFA World Cup, the Club World Cup will not feature a third-place playoff.

The 21st edition of this tournament kicks off in the United States on Saturday (Sunday at 02:00 AM Albanian time) with the opening match between Inter Miami and Egyptian club Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium in Florida. Manchester City are the defending champions, having won the last edition in December 2023.

Competition and Groups

Twelve European clubs have qualified: Inter, Juventus, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, and Salzburg.

Club World Cup Groups:

Group A: FC Porto, Palmeiras, Al Ahly, Inter MiamiGroup B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle SoundersGroup C: Bayern Munich, Benfica, Boca Juniors, Auckland CityGroup D: Flamengo, Chelsea, Club León, Espérance de TunisGroup E: River Plate, Inter, Monterrey, Urawa Red DiamondsGroup F: Fluminense, Dortmund, Ulsan HD, Mamelodi SundownsGroup G: Manchester City, Juventus, Wydad, Al AinGroup H: Real Madrid, Salzburg, Al Hilal, Pachuca

This year’s edition in the U.S. will be the first in the tournament's history to include 32 clubs, the same number as the most recent FIFA World Cups.

Why are Chelsea and Inter Miami participating while Barcelona and Liverpool are not?

FIFA's rules for the Club World Cup allow only two teams per country to participate. European clubs qualified based on their performance in the UEFA Champions League over the past four seasons.

Manchester City (2023) and Chelsea (2021) won the Champions League during that four-year period, taking England’s two spots. Other well-known clubs like Napoli, Milan, Barcelona, RB Leipzig, and Sevilla also missed out due to UEFA’s four-year club coefficient rankings and the two-club-per-country limit.

Where will the Club World Cup matches be played?

A total of 63 matches will be played in 12 stadiums across 11 U.S. cities. The opening match, Al Ahly vs Inter Miami, will take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, which has a capacity of 65,000.

MetLife Stadium, home of the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets, will host both the semifinals and the final. MetLife has a capacity of 82,500 and was also selected to host the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, known mainly as a college football stadium, is the largest venue with a capacity of 88,500. It has hosted major events including the football gold medal match at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the 1994 FIFA World Cup final. It will also be used for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Full list of stadiums:

MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey)Hard Rock Stadium (Miami, Florida)Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Georgia)Lumen Field (Seattle, Washington)Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina)TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio)Rose Bowl (Los Angeles, California)GEODIS Park (Nashville, Tennessee)Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando, Florida)Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

When is the FIFA Club World Cup?

The tournament starts on June 14 (U.S. time), with the final scheduled for July 13.

Full schedule summary:

Group stage: June 14–26

Round of 16: June 28 – July 1

Quarter-finals: July 4–5

Semi-finals: July 8–9

Final: July 13

Opening day matches (Albanian time):

02:00 – Al Ahly vs Inter Miami

18:00 – Bayern Munich vs Auckland City

21:00 – PSG vs Atletico Madrid

“KORÇA BOOM”