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The two Champions League semi-finalists, two of Europe's most in-form clubs, will not be in the new competition in the United States.
The new FIFA Club World Cup, to be held in June and July 2025 in the United States, will bring together 32 teams for the first time in a format similar to the World Cup for international teams. But despite the tournament's ambition, the FIFA-approved qualification model has created a notable paradox: two of the four semi-finalists in the current edition of the UEFA Champions League, FC Barcelona and Arsenal, will not be present in the competition.
UEFA's entry system is based on two pathways: the Champions League champions between 2021 and 2024 (Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Manchester City) and the clubs with the best cumulative Champions League performances during that same period. In addition, a limit of two teams per country has been imposed, unless a third club has won the European Championship.
Germany will be represented by Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, while Spain will have Real Madrid, who are currently the winners on points, and Atlético Madrid, while England will have Chelsea and Manchester City, also the winners. The same applies to Italy, where Inter and Juventus are the representatives, although the Bianconeri haven't even reached the final phase of this year's Champions League.
This system has resulted in a European representation that includes clubs such as Benfica, Porto, and RB Salzburg, who haven't reached such advanced stages in the Champions League this year but have accumulated strong records in previous seasons. On the other hand, clubs such as Arsenal and Barcelona, who reached the semifinals of the continent's premier club tournament in the 2024/25 season, will not be able to participate in the World Cup in the United States.
In total, Europe will have 12 clubs in the new tournament, but the distribution is based both on performance and the geographical distribution imposed by the regulations, something that already disadvantages Barça, curiously ranked 12th in points between 2021 and 2024. The restriction of a maximum of two teams per country is intended to ensure greater diversity of countries represented, although the result is that some of the strongest leagues on the continent, such as the Premier League, La Liga, and even the Bundesliga, provide fewer clubs than their current competitive strength could justify.
The 2025 Club World Cup will be held from June 15 to July 13, with a group stage and knockout rounds. It will be the first edition under this new format, and while it promises to bring together many of the world's biggest clubs, the absence of clubs that have proven to be key players in the most recent Champions League season raises questions about the selection criteria adopted.
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Posted Using INLEO