October 21 – No Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool, AC Milan or Arsenal, not even Atletico Madrid. The Club World Cup is without five of the biggest and most supported clubs in the world. But it does now have Lionel Messi… and his five-season-old club Inter Miami who have been give a wild card entry into the tournament.
You could almost hear the sigh of relief on the other side of Atlantic from FIFA’s new Miami offices as Messi inked his spot in FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s shiny new club tournament, a cornerstone of his FIFA competition (and commercial) expansion plan.
It is an expansion that is being contested in Europe with players’ unions and the European Leagues and World Leagues associations saying that it should be cancelled in favour of more discussion with stakeholders. Infantino has consistently refused to entertain their protests or meet their representatives on the issue.
Meanwhile FIFA is hyping the event in the US even though it has been slow to find significant commercial support in the local market. But in a political game of smoke and mirrors, FIFA is charging ahead with adjectives blazing.
Inter Miami have qualified by winning the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield – basically the league title but the MLS peculiarly, and somewhat sycophantically, call it something else.
The decision to give the slot to Inter Miami is discretionary and while the club topped league standings, they have not won the play-offs (yet), considered the real championship of the MLS season, nor have they won the Leagues Cup (now played between LigaMX and MLS clubs every summer). Other MLS clubs have reason to complain about a qualification slot given on what primarily looks like marketing reasons. It does question the overall sporting integrity of the competition.
Infantino was so excited at having Messi at his tournament that he declared Inter Miami will open the Club World Cup in June 2025 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Opposition to be drawn in December.
Messi is a well-behaved outlier when it comes to the inaugural edition of the Club World Cup. While the world’s leading players and their union in Europe talk about burn-out, fatigue, too many matches and too much travel and striking, Messi (who struggled in his final seasons in Europe with exactly that) has kept his mouth shut and will be putting his goody-two shoes forward as FIFA’s feel-good stooge.
Messi – who played about 35 minutes and scored three times on Saturday as Inter Miami thumped the New England Revolution 6-2 and set a new MLS points scoring record – finished the regular season with 20 goals and 16 assists in the 19 matches of the 34-game season he was fit enough to play in.
Infantino, always on hand when the stars are putting on a parade, announced the news during a fan and team celebration following Inter Miami’s final MLS regular season match.
“We all know how Miami is in love with football and how Inter Miami is supported from across Florida and beyond for your exciting brand of football,” Infantino gushed. “Congratulations on your wonderful 2024 Supporters’ Shield success. You have shown that in the United States, you are consistently the best club on the field of play.
“Therefore, I am proud to announce that as one of the best clubs in the world,” he effused, “you are deserved participants in the new FIFA Club World Cup 2025 as the host club representing the United States.”
Of more football significance is that now 31 of the 32 clubs at the 2025 tournament have now qualified. The remaining slot will go to the winner of the 2024 Copa Libertadores final on November 30.
Of the four remaining teams, Argentina’s River Plate have already qualified meaning the final slot will go to either Botafogo or Atletico Mineiro from Brazil, or Argentina’s Penarol. Conmebol have six slots at the tournament, three already filled by Brazilian clubs and two by Argentinian.
The Club World Cup 2025 will be played in 12 stadia across 11 cities from June 14 to July 15, 2025. Unless it isn’t.
Club World Cup 2025 stadia:
- MetLife Stadium (New York, New Jersey, 82,500, WC2026
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta), 71,000, WC 2026
- Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte), 74,867, WC2026
- TQL Stadium (Cincinnati), 26,000
- Rose Bowl Stadium (Los Angeles), 89,702
- Hard Rock Stadium (Miami), 65,326, WC 2026
- GEODIS Park (Nashville), 30,109
- Camping World Stadium (Orlando), 60,219
- Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando), 25,500
- Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia), 67,594, WC 2026
- Lumen Field (Seattle), 68,740, WC 2026
- Audi Field (Washington, D.C.), 20,000
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734909840labto1734909840ofdlr1734909840owedi1734909840sni@n1734909840osloh1734909840cin.l1734909840uap1734909840