Composite image showing Kylian Mbappe, US flag, Gianni Infantino, Harry Kane, a packed stadium and the trophy
Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane are among the leading players in Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s pet project
Manchester City and Chelsea are the Premier League’s representatives at the Fifa Club World in the United States.
City began their campaign with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca and then beat Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates 6-0 in their second match.
Chelsea started with a 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC before losing 3-1 to Flamengo of Brazil.
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For viewers in the UK, all games are free to air. Twenty-three of the 63 matches will be shown on Channel 5, as part of a tie-up with the main broadcasters, DAZN. The remaining 40 matches will be exclusively on DAZN. However, DAZN will be waiving its usual subscription fees for the tournament, albeit you still need to sign up for an account.
Highlights of all games will also be available on the Channel 5 Youtube channel.
The original $1 billion broadcasting deal with DAZN raised eyebrows when it was announced in December. It was understood that, prior to that deal being announced, Fifa had been struggling to find a broadcaster. It also seemed unusual because DAZN made a £1 billion loss according to its accounts for 2022.
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The inaugural 32-team Fifa Club World Cup started on June 14 with a lacklustre 0-0 draw between Inter Miami and Al-Ahly.
A low-profile annual seven-team format is being replaced by a 32-team contest every four years. The two English clubs involved are Chelsea and Manchester City, based on their performances in the Champions League over the past four seasons.
The final is on July 13.
Manchester City, the defending champions, are in a group with Morocco’s Wydad, Al-Ain of the UAE and Juventus from Serie A. Chelsea have got Esperance de Tunisie and Flamengo of Brazil. Club Leon of Mexico were due to be in the same group as Chelsea but were removed as they failed to meet criteria on multi-club ownership. Los Angeles FC replaced them after beating Club America of Mexico in a play-off.
Lionel Messi, 37, is there with Inter Miami, who Fifa ensured were selected as the competition’s host club, despite them not winning North America’s continental cup competition, on the basis that they had won the MLS Supporters’ Shield.
Lionel Messi of Inter Miami points to the sky to celebrate his goal during the Club World Cup match against Porto
Lionel Messi celebrates scoring a free-kick in Inter Miami’s win over Porto
Group A: Palmeiras, FC Porto, Al-Ahly, Inter Miami
Group B: Paris St-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica
Group D: Flamengo, Esperance de Tunisie, Chelsea, Los Angeles FC
Group E: River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey, Inter Milan
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al-Ain, Juventus
Group H: Real Madrid, Al-Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg
The competition shares the same format as the men’s and women’s World Cup competitions. The 32 teams are divided into eight groups of four, who will play each other in a single round-robin format. The top two teams from each group will then go through to the knockout stages starting with the round of 16. The final will take place on July 13, but unlike the World Cups, there will be no third-place play-off.
* Shown on Channel 5. All other fixtures shown on DAZN.
Times shown below are UK time
Group stage
Saturday, June 14
Sunday, June 15
*Group C:Bayern Munich 10 Auckland City 0
Group B: PSG 4 Atletico Madrid 0
Group A: Palmeiras 0 Porto 0
Group B: Botafogo 2 Seattle Sounders 1
Monday, June 16
Tuesday, June 17
Group D: Flamengo 2 Esperance de Tunisie 0
*Group F: Fluminense 0 Borussia Dortmund 0
Group E: River Plate 3 Urawa Red Diamonds 1
Wednesday, June 18
*Group G: Man City 2 Wydad AC 0
*Group H:Real Madrid 1 Al-Hilal 1
Group H: CF Pachuca 1 FC Salzburg 2
Group F: Ulsan HD 0 Mamelodi Sundowns 1
Group E: Monterrey 1 Inter Milan 1
Thursday, June 19
Group G: Al Ain 0 Juventus 5
Group A: Palmeiras 2 Al Ahly 0
Group A: Inter Miami 2 Porto 1
Group B: Seattle Sounders 1 Atletico Madrid 3
Friday, June 20
Group B: PSG 0 Botafogo 1
Group C: Benfica 6 Auckland City 0
Group D: Flamengo 3 Chelsea 1
Group D: Los Angeles FC 0 Esperance de Tunis 1
Saturday, June 21
*Group C: Bayern Munich 2 Boca Juniors 1
Group F: Mamelodi Sundowns 3 Borussia Dortmund 4
*Group E: Inter Milan 2 Urawa Red Diamonds 1
Group F: Fluminense 4 Ulsan HD 2
Group E: River Plate 0 Monterrey 0
Sunday, June 22
*Group G: Juventus 4 Wydad AC 1
Group H: Real Madrid 3 CF Pachuca 1
Group H: FC Salzburg 0 Al Hilal 0
*Group G:Man City 6 Al Ain 0
Jude Bellingham #5 of Real Madrid C. F. celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group H match between Real Madrid CF and CF Pachuca at Bank of America Stadium on June 22, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Jude Bellingham celebrates scoring during Real Madrid’s win over CF Pachuca
Monday, June 23
Group B: Seattle Sounders vs PSG - Lumen Field, Seattle; kick off 5pm
*Group B: Atletico Madrid vs Botafogo - Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles; kick off 5pm
Group A: Inter Miami vs Palmeiras - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami; kick off 2am (Tuesday)
Group A: Porto vs Al Ahly - MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 2am (Tuesday)
Tuesday, June 24
*Group C: Auckland City vs Boca Juniors - GEODIS Park, Nashville; kick off 7pm
Group C: Benfica vs Bayern Munich - Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte; kick off 8pm
Group D: Los Angeles FC vs Flamengo - Camping World Stadium, Orlando; kick off 2am (Wednesday)
*Group D: Esperance de Tunis vs Chelsea - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 2am (Wednesday)
Wednesday, June 25
*Group F: Borussia Dortmund vs Ulsan HD - TQL Stadium, Cincinnati; kick off 8pm
Group F: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Fluminense - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami; kick off 8pm
Group E: Inter Milan vs River Plate - Lumen Field, Seattle; kick off 11pm
Group E: Urawa Red Diamonds vs Monterrey - Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles; kick off 11pm
Thursday, June 26
Group G: Juventus vs Man City - Camping World Stadium, Orlando; kick off 8pm
Group G: Wydad AC vs Al Ain - Audi Field, Washington, D.C; kick off 8pm
Group H: Al Hilal vs CF Pachuca - GEODIS Park, Nashville; kick off 1am (Friday)
Group H: FC Salzburg vs Real Madrid - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 2am (Friday)
Knockout stage – round of 16
Saturday, June 28
Match 49: Group A winners vs Group B runners-up - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia;kick off 5pm
Match 50: Group C winners vs Group D runners-up - Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte; kick off 9pm
Sunday, June 29
*Match 51: Group B winners vs Group A runners-up - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; kick off 5pm
*Match 52: Group D winners vs Group C runners-up - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami; kick off 9pm
Monday, June 30
*Match 53: Group E winners vs Group F runners-up - Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte; kick off 8pm
*Match 54: Group G winners vs Group H runners-up - Camping World Stadium, Orlando; kick off 2am (Tuesday)
Tuesday, July 1
Match 55: Group H winners vs Group G runners-up - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami; kick off 8pm
Match 56: Group F winners vs Group E runners-up - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; kick off 2am (Wednesday)
Quarter-final fixtures
Friday, July 4
*Match 57: Winner match 53 vs Winner match 54 - Camping World Stadium, Orlando; kick off 8pm
Match 58: Winner match 49 vs Winner match 50 - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 2am (Saturday)
Saturday, July 5
*Match 59: Winner match 51 vs Winner match 52 - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; kick off 5pm
Match 60: Winner match 55 vs Winner match 56 - MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 9pm
Semi-final fixtures
Tuesday, July 8
Match 61: Winner match 57 vs Winner match 58 - MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 8pm
Wednesday, July 9
*Match 62: Winner match 59 vs Winner match 60 - MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 8pm
Club World Cup Final
Sunday, July 13
*Match 63: Winner match 61 vs Winner match 62 - MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 8pm
Manchester City or Chelsea could claim almost £100 million in prize money if they win the Club World Cup. The winners of the 32-team event will take home up to $125 million.
Teams will share $525 million (about £400 million) in participation fees, but this pot will not be distributed evenly.
The appearance fees going to Europe’s 12 clubs will be on a sliding scale from $38.19 million at the top end to $12.81 million at the bottom, determined by a ranking based on “sporting and commercial criteria”.
It is being held in the US. Twelve venues will be used across the country, with the final to be staged at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The other venues are Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta), TQL Stadium (Cincinnati), Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte), Rose Bowl Stadium (Pasadena), Hard Rock Stadium (Miami), GEODIS Park (Nashville), Camping World Stadium (Orlando), Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando), Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia), Lumen Field (Seattle) and Audi Field (Washington).
The tournament features clubs from each of the six international confederations and there were 12 places available for European clubs, decided by Champions League performances over the past four seasons. As a result, recent European Cup winners Chelsea (2021) and Manchester City (2023) qualified. Only two clubs per country can qualify, meaning 2022 Champions League finalists Liverpool were not included. One spot in the tournament was reserved for a team from the host nation, which enabled Fifa to shoehorn Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami into the draw.
In short, yes. The involvement of 32 teams has added even more games and, in the process, cut rest time for the world’s top players. This has attracted criticism and led to the threat of strike action by some players. In June, Fifpro, the global footballers’ union, took legal action against Fifa over player burnout at the expanded Club World Cup. There is also the issue that a lot of players’ contracts will run out in the middle of the tournament and concerns about stadiums being far from sold out.
2000: Corinthians – Beat Vasco de Gama (0-0, won on penalties)
2006: Sao Paulo – Beat Liverpool 1-0
2007: Internacional – Beat Barcelona 1-0
2008: AC Milan – Beat Boca Juniors 4-2
2009: Manchester United – Beat LDU Quito 1-0
2010: Barcelona – Beat Estudiantes 2-1 (AET)
2011: Inter Milan – Beat TP Mazembe 3-0
2012: Barcelona – Beat Santos 4-0
2013: Corinthians – Beat Chelsea 1-0
2014: Bayern Munich – Beat Raja Casablanca 2-0
2015: Real Madrid – Beat San Lorenzo 2-0
2016: Barcelona – Beat River Plate 3-0
2017: Real Madrid – Beat Kashima Antlers 4-2 (AET)
2018: Real Madrid – Beat Gremio 1-0
2019: Real Madrid – Beat Al-Ain 4-1
2020: Liverpool – Beat Flamengo 1-0 (AET)
2021: Bayern Munich – Beat UANL Tigres 1-0
2022: Chelsea – Beat Palmeiras 2-1 (AET)
2023: Real Madrid – Beat Al-Hilal 5-3
2024: Manchester City — Beat Fluminense 4-0
Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo insists lessons will be learnt from Friday’s loss to Flamengo at the Club World Cup.
The Blues capitulated in the second half in Philadelphia, surrendering a lead to lose 3-1 to the Brazilians and finish with 10 men.
Most of the damage was done in a torrid six-minute spell in which they conceded twice and had Nicolas Jackson - just four minutes after coming off the bench - sent off for a reckless tackle.
The result leaves them second in Group D with a win and a loss and potentially facing a more difficult route through the competition, with a possible clash against Bayern Munich in the last 16.
“It was difficult to take, but now we are focusing on the next game,” said Caicedo. “For sure, we need to learn from this game. We need to react.
“I think the team played well but you need to be focused for 95 minutes in this game because, in one second, you can lose the game and that was what happened.”
City chief defends tournament
Manchester City chief executive Ferran Sorriano has defended the Club World Cup, claiming it is part of the “globalisation” of football.
The enlarged Fifa tournament has drawn criticism for adding to fixture congestion, player fatigue and flagging interest from fans. Many stadiums have been far from full.
There is also, though, the prize of £97 million for the winners with Soriano declaring that City are targeting the Club World Cup after a season which ended without a trophy.
City began their campaign with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca – ranked below Cardiff City and Wrexham in the Opta rankings – at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia with thousands of empty seats.
However Soriano defended such fixtures. “You have to have teams like Manchester City playing teams from Morocco, Korea or wherever. That’s part of the globalisation of the No 1 sport in the world,” he said. “I think it’s a great initiative and we are very happy to be here.
“I think it’s something that was very much needed, soccer is a global sport and we have to make it global. It’s very important to be here because we are a global football club. We have our roots and we are proud of them.”
Good news for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli, who are in already by dint of their Asian Champions League triumph over Kawasaki Frontale in May. They will be joined by PSG (France), Cruz Azul (Mexico) and Pyramids (Egypt, duh) as winners of the European, North American and African equivalents. The winners of each of those continental tournaments for the following three years will also make it, plus four years of Copa Libertadores champions from South America.
The two non-champion teams with the strongest performances from the Libertadores in that period will be given a place, plus the highest-ranked team over four years of the Oceania Champions League. Uefa gets eight high-ranking non-champion teams from the Champions League, with one spot left for the host nation. That is to be determined but could be the World Cup hosts for 2030: Spain, Morocco and Portugal, which could require a creative solution. Could it be beefed up to 48 teams, like the World Cup?