FIFA President Gianni Infantino addressed the opening of the FIFA Congress 2025, covering a wide range of topics. Here is an excerpt of his statements regarding the upcoming Club World Cup:
Infantino stated: “We are currently organizing the FIFA Club World Cup, the first edition of which is set to begin on June 14th of this year. I want to say a word about this, as I believe it`s important to be very clear. Last week, we held a meeting with the White House task force dedicated to FIFA World Cups, involving the US government, the President, the Vice President, and various secretaries and ministers. The key message from that meeting is that the world is truly welcome in America. This welcome extends to the players, everyone involved, ourselves included, and most importantly, all the fans. And let me be clear: this message comes directly from the American government.”
“Everyone is welcome – specifically, those who want to celebrate football, enjoy their time, and experience the Club World Cup or World Cup with their families and friends. However, anyone intending to cause problems, as is the case in any country worldwide, is not welcome anywhere. Let me emphasize this: they are certainly not welcome in football. We do not want troublemakers in the sport.”
He continued: “We are organizing the FIFA Club World Cup. The tournament will kick off in Miami on June 14th, with the final scheduled for July 13th in New York/New Jersey. It will feature 32 teams from 20 different countries, with players representing nearly 90 different nations – I believe it`s around 86 or 87. Remarkably, this inaugural edition of the FIFA Club World Cup will have players from more nations represented than have participated in 100 years of the standard FIFA World Cup. This highlights how the best clubs today are truly multinational, featuring talented players from every corner of the globe.”
“This is a historic moment, a true first. It is destined to be a massive success. We have successfully secured an incredible and revolutionary broadcast agreement with DAZN, guaranteeing free access to every single match of the FIFA Club World Cup for everyone, everywhere in the world. This free access will be available through DAZN and various sublicense agreements with major broadcasters in different countries. This is because football belongs to everyone, to every fan worldwide, and everyone has the right to watch these matches without cost. This free access is incredibly important, and it was a key priority for us.”
“I also want to remind everyone that, regarding revenues and costs, this tournament will generate neither revenue nor cost for FIFA itself, meaning we will not need to draw upon our reserves. Furthermore, and critically, FIFA will retain zero US dollars from this FIFA Club World Cup. All proceeds will be reinvested directly back into football: distributed as prize money to the clubs and as solidarity funds for football clubs worldwide.”
“My sincere thanks go out to everyone who contributed to this success: the Confederations, Associations, leagues, clubs, players, the European Club Association and its president, and everyone who shared our vision. We believe the world needs a truly global club competition to ensure that clubs, not just national teams, have the opportunity to shine on the world stage, invest in their development, and grow bigger and better globally.”