FIFA has authorized plans for an expanded Club Planet Cup in 2025, with Chelsea and True Madrid handed automatic qualification spots.
The existing format of the tournament entails seven teams competing for the title, but FIFA president Gianni Infantino revealed plans in December for an expanded 32-group tournament from June 2025.
As the final two winners of the Champions League, Chelsea and True Madrid will be assured a spot in the tournament and two a lot more spots will be issued to the 2023 and 2024 Champions League winners.
As the Copa Libertadores is presently due to be held in November, South American clubs would not have completed their qualification tournaments in time to qualify for the new Club Planet Cup that year.
FIFA had initially planned to introduce a 24-group tournament in 2021, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic thwarted an anticipated inaugural edition in China, but an even larger competitors will take location every single 4 years.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Planet Cup final in December, Infantino mentioned the expanded tournament would be “like a Planet Cup”.
The international match calendar will be altered from 2025, with 1 extended break taking in 4 matches in late September and early October replacing two separate windows in September and October.
The governing physique mentioned that the other windows — in November, March and June — would stay unchanged.
Given that taking more than from Sepp Blatter in 2016, Infantino has sought to expand the Club Planet Cup and add to the pool of teams.
Speaking in 2016, he mentioned: “Today football is not just about Europe and South America. The globe has changed and that is why we will need to make the Club Planet Cup a lot more exciting for teams, and also for fans about the globe.”
True Madrid are the existing holders of the Club Planet Cup immediately after defeating Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal final month to win the trophy for a record fifth time.
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The FIFA Club Planet Cup: Infantino’s proposed alterations
(Photo: Getty Pictures)
