The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 marks a significant evolution in international club football, expanding from a seven-team annual event to a quadrennial 32-team tournament.
Football fans around the world anticipated seeing giants like Barcelona on this grand stage, but the Catalan side found themselves on the sidelines this summer. Here, GOAL delves into the reasons behind Barcelona’s absence, exploring the tournament format, qualification criteria, and the impact of UEFA’s country quotas.
Why Barcelona failed to qualify for Club World Cup 2025
FIFA approved a revamped Club World Cup for 2025, featuring 32 teams competing over a four-week period in the United States. Unlike the previous edition, which included only continental champions and a host representative, the expanded tournament allocates slots across all six confederations based on performance metrics over a four-year cycle
To determine participants, FIFA considers results from the 2021–22 to 2023–24 seasons of each confederation’s premier club competition. Confederations such as UEFA qualify their Champions League winners during this period, then fill remaining slots via a four-year club ranking. Meanwhile, AFC, CAF, and CONCACAF each receive four slots for their champions, OFC gets one, and the host association secures a dedicated berth
UEFA, with the highest allotment of 12 slots, admits its Champions League winners from 2021–22 through 2023–24 and fills the remaining spots using UEFA’s club coefficient system. Crucially, FIFA enforces a maximum of two clubs per national association—unless more than two clubs from the same country win their continental competition. This rule means that even high-ranking teams can miss out if two compatriots have already secured qualification.
Although Barcelona remained competitive domestically and in Europe, they failed to capture a Champions League title between 2021 and 2024 and did not rank high enough in UEFA’s coefficient standings to surpass Atlético Madrid. With Real Madrid and Atlético already filling Spain’s two permitted spots, Barcelona were edged out of qualification.
How did Real Madrid and Atletico qualify over Barcelona?
For Spain, Real Madrid clinched their place by winning the Champions League in both 2021–22 and 2023–24, while Atlético Madrid secured the second Spanish slot as the next eligible team based on UEFA’s four-year ranking. These two clubs thus occupied Spain’s UEFA quota, leaving Barcelona without a berth despite their illustrious history.
Barcelona’s absence from the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 underscores the tournament’s strict qualification framework, balancing continental merit with performance-based rankings and national quotas. As the expanded format continues to evolve, clubs will need consistent success both domestically and in Europe to secure their place on football’s global stage. For Barcelona, the focus now turns to reclaiming European glory to ensure their return in the next edition.
How do I watch the FIFA Club World Cup 2025?
Global streaming platform DAZN has secured the exclusive worldwide rights to broadcast all matches live and free of charge, offering coverage in multiple languages.