FIFA President Gianni Infantino has thanked Hisense for becoming the first Official Partner of the inaugural 32-team FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, emphasising that the new competition would usher in a new era for club football. The partnership, which marks an exciting development in the seven-year-old relationship between the two organisations, was announced at a special event in Shanghai, China PR, by the FIFA President and Hisense Group Chairman Jia Shaoqian.

Mr Infantino said: "We all know that this means the beginning of a new era of club football - the biggest and best global club competition that the planet has ever seen. An open and inclusive competition because in order to participate, of course, you need to qualify. Every club in the world has a chance to participate in the (FIFA) Club World Cup." He added: "It is a new competition that, for the first time in the history of football brings together the 32 best clubs in the world to determine who is officially the (FIFA) world champion, who is officially the best club in the world."

The FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, to be played at 12 venues in the United States from 14 June to 13 July 2025, will feature the best clubs from each of the six confederations, including the winners of the last 19 top club tournaments at continental level.

Hisense’s history with FIFA began in 2017 when the brand became the first Chinese-headquartered consumer electronics company to sponsor the FIFA World Cup™. The collaboration underscores Hisense’s commitment to technological innovation and its vision of enhancing people’s quality of life through user-centric technology, ultimate-quality products and AI (artificial intelligence) scenarios.

For its part, FIFA wants to put technological developments at the service of the game, to improve the experience for fans both on and off the pitch - as outlined in the FIFA’s President’s strategic objectives for the organisation during the 2023-2027 cycle. "I would like to congratulate you for the incredible work that you have been doing," the FIFA President told the event. "What you did in the last few years, what you are doing, what you are developing, is huge, is unique, is fantastic."

Mr Infantino said that a truly global club competition – effectively a FIFA World Cup™ for clubs – was long overdue. "After almost 100 years of history of (national team FIFA) World Cups, it was about time that we created a new competition to celebrate club football,” he said.

The FIFA President also stated that income would be entirely used to help the development of club football globally. “The revenue that will be generated from this (FIFA) Club World Cup will be reinvested 100 per cent in the club game, in club football. Of course, to the participating clubs as prize money, but also as solidarity to all the clubs all over the world,” he said. “These clubs and the players playing for these clubs, as you know, have billions of fans all over the world. So, we are expecting billions of fans watching the FIFA Club World Cup.”