Major League Soccer side Inter Miami have been named as the latest addition to the Fifa Club World Cup in 2025.
The expanded 32-team tournament will be held in the United States in 2025 from 15 June to 3 July next year.
The tournament will be made up of 12 teams from Europe, six from South America, 12 from Asia, Africa and North America with the final two spots going to one club from Oceania and another from the United States – the host nation.
Inter Miami, who are co-owned by David Beckham, have been awarded that spot after the club won the MLS Supporters Shield – which is given to the club in the MLS with the best regular game season.
The announcement came after Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to help Inter Miami break the MLS’s regular-season points record.
“You have shown that in the United States, you are consistently the best club on the field of play,” Fifa president Gianni Infantino said.
“Therefore, I am proud to announce that as one of the best clubs in the world, you are deserved participants in the new Fifa Club World Cup 2025.”
Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez could come up against Chelsea and Manchester City, who have already qualified for the tournament.
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain, Inter Milan, Porto and Benfica are other representatives from Europe.
The 32nd spot in the tournament will be awarded to the winner of the 2024 Copa Libertadores.
Matches will be played across eight venues in the US – including at Inter Miami’s Hard Rock stadium – with the final to take place at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Fifa’s decision to expand the competition has drawn criticism from clubs and players, particularly after Uefa expanded the Champions League and Europa League group stages to include two further matches.
Global players’ union Fifpro and the European Leagues body, which represents 39 leagues and 1,130 clubs in 33 countries, filed a joint complaint to the European Commission in July to protest Fifa’s “abuse of dominance” in the game.
The last edition of the tournament in 2023 was contested between seven teams from six confederations, with Manchester City winning the trophy.
The full Club World Cup draw will be made in December.
Source: BBC Sports
