FIFA Club World Cup Kickoff: Meet the Teams Competing in Soccer’s Revamped Tournament

Pakistan, June 7 -- The recently enlarged FIFA Club World Cup is set to begin in Miami on June 14, showcasing prominent footballers such as Lionel Messi alongside top clubs including Real Madrid. However, the debut of this revamped event, hosted in the U.S., arrives amid questions about whether it will find acceptance into an already crowded schedule where professional soccer seems to run almost continuously throughout the year.

This represents FIFA's major move to strengthen its presence in club football. Up until now, top-tier club soccer tournaments have largely been confined to regional contests like the esteemed Champions League, an event managed by the European soccer authority UEFA.

FIFA aims for this quadrennial tournament to hold the same significance for club soccer as the World Cup does for international soccer, and strives to position it as one of the most prominent and lucrative events in sports.

However, this is not guaranteed due to thePlayers' pushback stemming from concerns about exhaustion, and it remains unclear whether there is significant interest among supporters for yet another tournament.

Below is key information regarding the Club World Cup. On June 14, Inter Miami faces off against Al Ahly at the Hard Rock Stadium for their inaugural match. The championship clash takes place on July 13 at MetLife Stadium located in New Jersey. This tournament has grown from featuring seven teams to hosting thirty-two participants, aligning itself more closely with both the men’s and women’s World Cups. In this event, eight groups consisting of four teams each will compete in a round-robin format within smaller leagues; subsequently, the best two sides per group progress into a playoff phase spanning from the round of sixteen up until the finale.

Held in the United States, the host cities encompass Atlanta, Cincinnati, Charlotte, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York/New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

Several top European clubs will participate, such as Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Juventus, along with Paris Saint-Germain, which won this year’s Champions League, and runners-up Inter Milan.

Top Brazilian football clubs such as Fluminense, Flamengo, Palmeiras, and Botafogo—recent victors in the Copa Libertadores, South America’s premier club tournament—will compete, alongside Argentine sides River Plate and Boca Juniors. In the United States contingent, Inter Miami, Seattle Sounders, and LAFC will be participating. Representing Mexico are Monterrey and Pachuca, with leading teams from Asia, Africa, and Oceania also joining the fray.

Notable absentees include European giants Barcelona, Liverpool and Manchester United, who failed to meet FIFA's convoluted qualifying criteria based on winning continental titles like the Champions League over the previous four years and ranking points. Countries are also limited to two entrants unless they have more than two winners of continental titles.

Messi anyone? Arguably the greatest player of all time will get the chance to add to his trophy collection, though Inter Miami is considered a rank outsider to be crowned world champion.

Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, and Jude Bellingham form part of Real Madrid’s impressive roster, whereas Manchester City boasts Erling Haaland and Ballon d’Or recipient Rodri. Also set to participate are Harry Kane, Lautaro Martínez, Ousmane Dembélé, and Desire Omogbamidze, who was named man of the match in the UEFA Champions League final. The status of Cristiano Ronaldo remains uncertain; his current team, Al Nassr from Saudi Arabia, did not make it through qualification rounds. However, he recently stoked rumors regarding a potential switch via a social media post. Additionally, FIFA president Gianni Infantino suggested that due to an exceptional transfer period, Ronaldo might still find himself competing at the Club World Cup with a different club.