By Francis Ofori
Accra, June 24, GNA- The Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) has appointed the United States of America (USA) as hosts of the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup.
The competition would feature 32 teams from different continents who would battle it out for the grand prize.
Mr. Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA speaking at a conference yesterday said the selection process was due to infrastructure available, service requirement, as well as strategic objectives for the tournament.
He noted that the USA had records for staging global events hence the need to see this as a stepping stone towards hosting a successful World Cup in 2026.
“The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be the pinnacle of the elite professional men’s club football, and with the infrastructure in place together with a massive local interest, the United States is the ideal host to kick off this new, global tournament,” he added.
He pledged that the maiden edition of the newly expanded tournament would be one of the best witnessed worldwide.
FIFA would engage relevant stakeholders in its next meeting to discuss dates, venues and match schedule of the next Club World Cup.
The competition previously featured seven teams drawn from six confederations, AFC Champions League, CAF Champions League, CONCACAF Champions Cup, CONMEBOL Libertadores, OFC Champions League and the UEFA Champions League.
Continental championships in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America or South America from 2021 through to 2024 would book a ticket to the tournament in the USA.
Europe would receive 12 entries, South America with six, and not more than four
slots each to the other continents.
GNA