EXCLUSIVE Liverpool and Man United are LOCKED out of new Club World Cup as FIFA restrict each country to two clubs… with Arsenal given a lifeline if they win the Champions League this season
- The Club World Cup tournament will take place in the summer of 2025 in the US
- Two English will be involved unless they’ve won Champions League recently
- ‘There’s no bigger waste of time!’ What is the point of the Club World Cup? It’s All Kicking Off
Liverpool and Manchester United have been locked out of the inaugural Club World Cup after FIFA opted to restrict each country to two clubs unless they have won the Champions League in the last four years.
Chelsea and Manchester City have already booked their place in the new tournament to take place in the United States in 2025 by virtue of their recent Champions League victories, while Arsenal could also qualify if they win this season’s competition.
Liverpool have qualified on their basis of their overall Champions League performances if access was based entirely on merit, while United would also have been in contention, but at a FIFA Council meeting in Jeddah today it was decided to limit each country to two clubs in an attempt to broaden the competition.
An exception will be made for clubs who win the Champions League during the 2021 to 2024 qualifying period keeping Arsenal’s hopes alive if they lift the trophy for the first time in their history at Wembley next year.
In addition to the four Champions League winners eight places will be made available to the European clubs with the best performances in the competition over the last four years.
Liverpool and Manchester United have been locked out from the inaugural Club World Cup
Chelsea and Manchester City have already booked their place in the new tournament
Missing out on the competition will be a significant financial blow to United and Liverpool as the prize fund has been projected at up to £50million depending on the value of international broadcast rights.
Real Madrid have already qualified with Chelsea and City as Champions League winners, whilst Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, Porto and Benfica are all guaranteed places as their rankings cannot be overhauled.
There are four more slots available for European clubs via the ranking route, with Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Red Bull Leipzig, Juventus, Napoli, Lazio and Red Bull Salzburg all in contention.
Arsenal can qualify for the Club World Cup if they win the Champions League this season
Real Madrid have already qualified with Chelsea and City as Champions League winners
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In addition to Arsenal, Real Sociedad, PSV Eindhoven and FC Copenhagen could theoretically qualify by winning this season’s Champions League.
Beyond Europe there will be six clubs from South America, four each from north/central America, Africa and Asia, as well as one from Oceania and a final guaranteed spot for the host country, the USA.
The Club World Cup will follow the same format of recent World Cups, with eight groups of four leading to a first knockout round of 16, so the eventual finalists will end up playing seven games in four weeks.
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