FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström has highlighted the array of opportunities afforded by the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, telling an expert panel at The Business of Soccer conference in Los Angeles, United States that the merit-based competition is “the missing piece in the ecosystem” for football in the region and beyond. The world’s number one sport will take over the Americas in the coming years, beginning with this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup™ in the US. Played across 12 stadiums in 11 cities from 14 June to 13 July, the best 32 clubs in the world will compete for the title of ‘official FIFA club world champions’ in the most inclusive tournament in history.

“It’s going to be a fantastic competition. It’s really a new journey for club football, and together with our friends from Concacaf…we have been working on this for a number of years,” Mr Grafström said on a panel that was shared with Concacaf General Secretary Philippe Moggio on the second day of the invitation-only The Business of Soccer event, hosted by Sports Business Journal and Leaders in Sport, on Thursday, 20 March. The FIFA Secretary General added: “It's a really important step for the club ecosystem because this competition didn't exist before. Having these 32 teams - who have qualified through their continental competitions - you really have a sporting pathway for this tournament. All of these clubs have really earned the right to be there, and to compete for the first ever title of FIFA Club World Cup champion. “What's great about it as well is that it gives the opportunity to a number of players who might not come from larger nations in football - and who might not have the opportunity next year in 2026 to participate in the national team (FIFA) World Cup. So, I think, really, this was the missing piece in the ecosystem and really having a celebration like the normal (FIFA) World Cup every four years, to bring the club ecosystem into this one-month celebration will be something very special. And it will be more than an appetiser for what's coming up next year, which is the big 2026 FIFA World Cup.”

As the FIFA Secretary General alluded to, tournament football will return to North America a year after the FIFA Club World Cup, when Canada, Mexico and the US co-host the first 48-team FIFA World Cup™ from 11 June to 19 July 2026. An estimated five million football fans from around the world are expected to attend the finals, in addition to the billions who will engage with the tournament’s record 104 matches remotely. Women’s football is also expanding its reach, making a significant contribution to the game’s global footprint. Following approval by the FIFA Council on 5 March 2025, the new FIFA Women’s Champions Cup™ and first edition of the FIFA Women’s Club World Cup™ have been confirmed for 2026 and 2028 respectively, in another significant step for the sport. The former will take place every year in which the FIFA Women’s Club World Cup doesn’t take place, as this tournament will follow the four-year world cup cycle. Between times, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™ will be held in Brazil, following a record-breaking and transformative edition of the competition in Australia and New Zealand in 2023.

“[The growth in women’s football] has been exponential. The interest we see, the number of new competitions, the figures as well, be it also commercially,” Mr Grafström explained. “It’s really exciting, and I think the way we were able also have prize money for the players in 2023 at the (FIFA) Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand was groundbreaking. We want to help and push the women’s game even further, so that it can reach new heights as well.”