FIFA has announced that the first edition of the newly expanded 32-team Club World Cup will take place in the United States in 2025. In March, FIFA confirmed that the revamped tournament will be played every four years from June 2025. United States has been unanimously appointed as the competition's hosts by the FIFA Council. The country will also host the 2024 Copa America while co-hosts the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada.
The new Club World Cup format will feature confederation champions from 2021-2024 and means that clubs such as Chelsea, Real Madrid and last season's Champions League winners Manchester City have already qualified from Europe. The current version of the Club World Cup, which is an annual competition featuring seven teams, will be discontinued after 2023.
FIFA also announced that the bidding process for the 2030 World Cup has been postponed for "additional consultation with all key stakeholders." The relevant bidding regulations will be presented for approval in September/October 2023, with the bidding process officially launched thereafter. The appointment of the host(s) by the FIFA Congress is expected to move from Q3 2024 to Q4 2024. The FIFA Congress will take place in Bangkok, Thailand on May 17, 2024.
In addition to these decisions, FIFA also appointed Indonesia as hosts for the Under-17 World Cup later this year, three months after the Southeast Asian country was stripped of the Under-20 World Cup rights, which was then held in Argentina. The decision to stop Indonesia from holding the event was taken after the country's football federation cancelled the draw because the governor of Bali, which is a predominantly Hindu island, refused to host Israel's team. Indonesia were later awarded the Nov. 10-Dec. 2 event after Peru failed to fulfil infrastructure commitments and were stripped of the rights.
Furthermore, the FIFA Council appointed Colombia as hosts for the Under-20 Women's World Cup in 2024, while the Dominican Republic will host the Under-17 Women's World Cup the same year. These decisions will shape the future of world football and will bring more opportunities for young players to showcase their talents on the world stage.