Anticipation and enthusiasm was palpable amongst the five AFC- and OFC-affiliated clubs who will take part in the new FIFA Club World Cup™ after the draw for the group stage of the most inclusive, merit-based competition in club football history was made in Miami, Florida on Thursday, 5 December. A highlight for Asian fans will be Al Hilal's meeting with record European champions Real Madrid C. F. Club representatives from Al Ain FC, Al Hilal, Auckland City FC, Ulsan HD and Urawa Red Diamonds were in attendance, with many of them sharing their enthusiasm for the tournament with Inside FIFA.

Al Ain FC Facing English heavyweights Manchester City FC, Italian giants Juventus FC, and Moroccan powerhouse Wydad AC, Al Ain will have their work cut out. “This is a once in a lifetime chance and we need to enjoy. We come to the FIFA Club World Cup with the best that we have, and we will try our best,” said Al Ain Sporting Director, Rodrigo Mendes. “We won the AFC Champions League last season and we won it in 2003, so Al Ain is capable of everything. “It’s a very tough group. Our first game is against Juventus, so we will see. It would be a good surprise if we move on to the second round.”

Auckland City FC The sole OFC representative in the competition, Auckland City FC earned their position at the tournament by winning the past three OFC Champions Leagues, taking their tally to an impressive 10 of the past 12 titles. Having been drawn against record Bundesliga champions FC Bayern München, Argentinian giants CA Boca Juniors, and Portuguese heavyweights SL Benfica, it will be a tough ask for Auckland City. Club legend Ivan Vicelich said the pedigree of the opposition is what makes the FIFA Club World Cup special.

“It’s a group that everyone dreamed of – very strong, very competitive, and we’re really happy to be here, excited for the tournament to start,” said Vicelich. “We’re realistic. We know it’s going to be very, very difficult but we’re going to work hard, do our best to get here in good shape to put on some good performances – as best we can do. “The prize for us was getting here, qualifying and getting through three very difficult years of the [OFC] Champions League in Oceania and winning those tournaments to enable us to be here. “We’re definitely the underdogs here, coming into this tournament. But [the world] will learn that we have a good group of people, we’re putting everything into it. We want to show the world that we’re competitive and excited to be here, and happy to be in the tournament.”

Ulsan HD Ulsan qualified for the tournament through the rankings pathway, having finished second in AFC behind Al Hilal. The Koreans have been drawn against Brazilian giants Fluminense FC, Borussia Dortmund of Germany, and South African side Mamelodi Sundowns FC.

Kim Kwang-guk, Ulsan HD CEO, says he wants the club to showcase themselves in the best way possible and is looking forward to testing themselves against new opposition. “It’s a great honour and privilege to be here. I think it’s a great honour that one of the four leading Asian teams is from South Korea,” he said. “However, I also think that it could be a big failure if we do not show our competitive strength. I hope we can prepare ourselves well to put in a great performance.

“We’re looking forward to studying the teams we play against to be able to get ourselves at least one win. We’ve played against foreign teams, mainly in the Asian Football Confederation, it would be a very different experience for us to play against other European teams and teams from other continents.”

Urawa Red Diamonds Urawa Reds earned their spot thanks to a 2-1 victory over Al Hilal in the 2022 final of the AFC Champions League. The Reds have been drawn in a strong group including FC Internazionale Milano, CA River Plate and CF Monterrey.

Urawa Reds president and CEO, Makoto Taguchi, said that fan expectations are high despite the strong group. “There will be high expectations, and we’ll have to live up to them,” said Mr Taguchi. “[Our opposition] are all familiar teams in Japan. They're well-known there, so I think everyone will be looking forward to watching these matches. It won’t be easy to beat any of these teams, so we’ll have to play well in the group stage to qualify for the following round.”

The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will grace the world stage from 14 June to 13 July 2025, with a total of 63 matches to be played across 12 different venues in 11 US Host Cities. The inaugural edition of the 32-team competition features the most successful club sides from each of the six FIFA confederations: AFC, CAF, Concacaf, CONMEBOL, OFC and UEFA. The group stage is comprised of eight groups of four teams playing in a single-game round-robin format. The top two teams per group progress to the round of 16, the beginning of a direct single-match knockout stage, culminating in the final at MetLife Stadium in New York New Jersey, where the world’s best club will be crowned.

Fans wishing to keep up to date with the latest news and information regarding FIFA Club World Cup 2025 tickets can register at FIFA.com/tickets. More information about ticket and hospitality sales will be released in due course.