WHAT HAPPENED?
Per The Guardian, FIFA are set to launch a consultation over whether they should expand the Club World Cup to 48 teams. They have already expanded it once, to 32 teams, and if this year’s edition of the tournament is successful, those clubs who missed out on qualification have lobbied for the qualifying pool to be expanded.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The new competition will start this weekend and the winners could net up to £93 million ($125m). It is only £25m shy of what Paris Saint-Germain earned for winning the Champions League. Both the male and female World Cups are set to expand to 48 teams, so FIFA adding more teams to the CWC would be logically consistent, particularly after they sold the television rights to DAZN for $1 billion (£737m).
DID YOU KNOW?
Premier League clubs are particularly interested in FIFA increasing the cap on qualifying teams from one country from the current number of two. Chelsea and Manchester City have qualified for the tournament, for example, by virtue of winning the Champions League between 2021 and 2024, but the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal – all huge revenue drivers both in terms of ticket sales and merchandising opportunities – have missed out.
WHAT NEXT?
The Club World Cup officially begins on Sunday, when Inter Miami take on Al-Ahly in the opening game of the tournament.
