FIFA plans to increase teams for Club World Cup 2029

Manos Staramopoulos • 19 de agosto de 2025

FIFA wants to increase the limit of two teams per country in the Club World Cup 2029. A change that could also increase the total number of teams from 32 to 48, a change that UEFA finds objectionable.

Chelsea vs PSG was the Club World Cup 2025 final in New York city the last july with victory for english club 3-0.The next edition are in 2029.

FIFA and UEFA seem to have found a new battleground! This has to do with the changes that FIFA wants to make in view of the 2029 Club World Cup. More specifically, it wants to increase the limit of two teams per country. A change that could also increase the total number of teams from 32 to 48, a change that UEFA finds objectionable.

FIFA wants to give… free rein to the champions of England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France. This major change by FIFA to the Club World Cup could affect 10 teams. First, the World Federation recognized Chelsea (3-0 Paris Saint-Germain in the final) as the first champions in the history of the Club World Cup, despite the fact that the tournament has been held since 2000!

This means that Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Milan do not appear on the list of winners of the trophy. However, unlike in the past, Chelsea did not automatically receive a place in the 2029 Club World Cup as the title holder.

Four teams have already secured their participation in the next tournament. They are Paris Saint-Germain, Cruz Azul, Al Ahly and Pyramids FC because they won their respective continental cups this year.

The change being planned by FIFA was revealed by The Times newspaper and according to the report, it could allow clubs such as Chelsea (the title holder), Liverpool, Barcelona and Napoli to take part, even if they have not qualified through continental competitions.

According to what was leaked, FIFA executives felt “disappointment” that teams such as Liverpool, Barcelona and Napoli (all champions in their countries) were not in the United States for the recent Club World Cup. That is why the idea arose that the champions of England, Spain and Italy, as well as the champions of France and Germany, would be eligible to participate, if they have not already qualified.

Such a change to the regulations would likely lead to an increase in the number of teams from 32 to 48, which, according to reports, would meet with opposition from UEFA.

In addition to the six teams mentioned above, this regulation would also affect the four that have already qualified, regarding the format in which they should compete in 2029.

FIFA, despite the event being accompanied by cries of competitive overload for footballers, is determined to support the Club World Cup.

We recall that its president, Gianni Infantino, rejected the objections and declared that the Club World Cup is “the most successful inter-club competition in the world”, while adding: “The golden era of global club football has begun. We can say with certainty that this FIFA Club World Cup has been a huge, huge, huge success. Of course, there are many positives, some negatives. It was successful. We had over 2.5 million spectators in the stadiums. "We generated over $2 billion in revenue from this event. There is no other event in the world that comes close to $33 million per match."