- Europe allocated 12 of 32 spots
- Four of 12 given to last four UCL winners
- Remaining eight based on coefficient, two per country
WHAT HAPPENED? FIFA first revealed plans of an enhanced tournament back in December 2022, which will see 32 of "the best teams in the world", according to president Gianni Infantino, battle it out every four years, the first of which will take place in the summer of 2025. Proposals of how teams would qualify for the modified competition were put forward last week, and with FIFA now approving these suggestions, The Times have now revealed who will be eligible to qualify.
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WHICH PREMIER LEAGUE CLUBS WILL FEATURE? Of the 32 total teams in the tournament, 12 will be made up of European spots. Out of these 12, four will be offered to the Champions League winners of the 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 editions. That means that, as 2021 winners, Chelsea are already guaranteed a place, alongside 2022 winners Real Madrid. Should a Premier League side win either the 2023 or 2024 Champions League tournaments, they too will be given a place.
The remaining eight European spots will be put together via FIFA's coefficient rankings, for which each country has a maximum of two places. These are calculated by each team's performance in European competitions over the last five years. Currently ranked second, Manchester City would therefore be all but guaranteed the first coefficient-based English spot. It is likely that the other will be handed to Liverpool or Manchester United, given that Tottenham and Arsenal are ranked 18th and 23rd respectively.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
Getty Images
Getty Images
Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE: As it stands, that means three Premier League clubs - Chelsea, Manchester City and either Liverpool or Manchester United - will feature. That is unless there is another English Champions League winner for either 2023 or 2024, which would see four English sides in the 32-team tournament - the maximum allocation.
The Times reports that clubs will welcome a payday of £25 million ($30.4m) for taking part in the tournament - money which Chelsea are now guaranteed for their 2021 European triumph - which could rise as high as £50m ($60.8m) depending on progression.
WHAT NEXT? With changes finalised for the enhanced version of the tournament in 2025, the next Club World Cup will take place in Saudi Arabia in December in its usual seven-team format.