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Manchester United will be ineligible to play in the revamped 2025 Club World Cup competition after FIFA’s latest rule change.
Following the ongoing 2023 edition of the Club World Cup which is happening in Saudi Arabia, new sweeping modifications to the tournament are set to take place.
In its currently existing format, the Club World Cup sees the champions of each continent face off every year to determine which is the planet’s best team.
In an effort to make the competition one of the best and to attract larger audiences, The FIFA Council met in Jeddah and agreed on a new qualifying criteria that will expand the contest to include 32 teams, with a maximum of two clubs qualifying from one country.
According to Sky Sports, England’s two spots will go to Manchester City and Chelsea respectively.
Before Sunday’s confirmation of the new rules, Liverpool had a chance to make it through based on their performances in the Champions League for the past three seasons but like United, they’ve also now been locked out.
Arsenal are the only other English club with the chance to qualify, but they can only do so by winning this season’s Champions League.
Sky relays, “The two club country cap is lifted if there are more than two Champions League winners from one country over the four-year qualifying cycle.”
“Europe will have 12 clubs in the 32-team tournament and the spaces are allocated based on performances in the Champions League over four seasons from 2020-21 up to and including this season.”
“Champions League winners during the four-year qualifying cycle qualify automatically which means Chelsea, Real Madrid, Man City have already booked their spaces for the tournament which will be played in the USA between June 15 and July 13, 2025.”
FA chair Debbie Hewitt who sits on the FIFA Council is understood to have been in the meeting which was also attended by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin who joined remotely via video call.
Sky further states, “Depending on prize money and the size of broadcast and marketing deals, participating clubs are expected to make about £50m from the tournament, which will be held every four years.”
Other outfits in Europe that have qualified due to their co-efficient rankings are Porto, Benfica, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan.
Clubs that are vying for the three or four remaining slots include Barcelona Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Juventus, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and RB Salzburg.
PSV Eindhoven, FC Copenhagen and Real Sociedad are in the same boat as Arsenal and would need to win the Champions League this term.
