Will the Club World Cup take place? With less than a year to go before the event, the question should no longer be asked. And yet, doubts remain. They are even growing thicker and thicker.
Criticism and attacks are intensifying against FIFA's XL project and that of its president, Gianni Infantino, for a 32-team world tournament, scheduled for June 15 to July 13, 2025 in the United States.
The latest came from Spain. It did not take any detours, bluntly demanding that the Italo-Swiss leader remove the Club World Cup from the calendar for next season.
Present this week in Brussels, the president of the Spanish professional league (LaLiga), the influential Javier Tebas, directly attacked the president of FIFA. He accuses him of wanting to impose against general opinion a project that is still poorly finished, particularly on the financial level, and with it a season announced as the longest in history.
« Mr. FIFA President, you know that you have not sold the audiovisual rights according to the budget that you announced for this Club World Cup, said Javier Tebas at the European Club Union Forum in Brussels. You know you don't have the sponsors for this Club World Cup as you had planned. You know the leagues and the players' unions don't want this Club World Cup. So, withdraw this Club World Cup now ».
It's hard to be more direct. Javier Tebas continued in the same vein from the Belgian capital, suggesting that FIFA will be forced to dip into its own coffers to close the budget for an event for which broadcasters and partners are reluctant to commit.
« If you use FIFA funds to finance the money that is missing from the promise you made to the clubs, you are taking that money away from all the federations or from all those that FIFA claims to help, explained the Spanish leader. We are talking about more than 1,5 billion euros that will have to be taken from this fund ».
Will Javier Tebas be heard? Unlikely. It is difficult, in fact, to imagine FIFA erasing with a single stroke of an eraser an event that was supposed to serve as a dress rehearsal for the 2026 World Cup. But the pressure on Gianni Infantino is growing stronger and stronger. It comes from clubs, leagues, but also from players.
The global players' union FIFPRO has joined forces with the Association of European Professional Leagues to file a complaint against FIFA with the European Commission in Brussels this week. They claim the international body is abusing its dominant position to impose competitions, with disregard for the physical and mental health of players.
Last month, Manchester City midfielder Modri spoke out to suggest that players were "close " to launch a strike movement. The cause is a schedule that has become hellish. The Spaniard explained that he had played 63 matches for club and country last season, up until the Euro 2024 final on July 14 in Germany.
On the other side, FIFA remains firm in its position. Gianni Infantino continues to downplay the impact of the tournament on the reality of professional football. He repeats that the Club World Cup will only involve 32 teams on the entire planet, or less than a thousand players. It will take place once every four years, with a maximum of seven matches per team.
Above all, the FIFA president is moving forward. He took advantage of a visit to the United States earlier this week to announce that one of the qualified American clubs, Seattle Sounders FC, will play its three group stage matches at home, at Lumen Field, a 69.000-seat stadium. Three other 2025 Club World Cup matches are planned for the same stadium in the Washington State metropolis.
