When is the next FIFA Club World Cup? What we know today, format changes, clubs involved and more

The first edition of the FIFA Club World Cup is now officially over as Chelsea managed to lift the trophy after winning 3-0 in the final against PSG at MetLife stadium on Sunday. While we are getting closer to the World Cup that will take place next summer in the United States, Canada and Mexico, which will also see the final taking place in the same venue, we can now also take a look at what we know about the next edition of the Club World Cup that will take place in 2029.

More teams involved?

As of today, FIFA haven't announced new changes to the current format that will see 32 teams involved in the tournament that should take place in the summer 2029. However, reports suggested that multiple European clubs in particular have urged FIFA's leadership to expand the tournament to a 48-team format, similar to the World Cup. Adding more teams would definitely generate a bigger interest for the new competition and also increase the prize money, a big factor of interest for the clubs involved this summer in the tournament.

Who already qualified?

If we consider the current format, with 32 teams involved in the competition, there are already four teams qualified for the 2029 edition of the Club World Cup. While Chelsea will wear the badge of the 2025 edition for the next four years, the English giants don't have a spot granted in the next tournament as of today. PSG will definitely take part of the 2029 edition as they won the 2024-25 edition of the UEFA Champions League before losing to Chelsea in the final of the World Cup. Egyptian side Pyramids FC have qualified as winners of the 2024-25 CAF Champions League while Al-Ahli won the same edition of the AFC Champions League Elite and will be part of the 2029 edition. The last team that already qualified is Mexican side Cruz Azul which won the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup. This is the list of the teams qualified for the tournament so far:

1. PSG, France - UEFA 2024-25 Champions League winners
2. Pyramids, Egypt - CAF 2024-25 Champions League winners
3. Al-Ahli, Saudi Arabia - AFC 2024-25 Champions League Elite winners
4. Cruz Azul, Mexico - CONCACAF 2025 Champions Cup

Where will the next CWC be played?

There is nothing official on where the World Cup will take place in 2029, but some countries have already expressed their interest to host the tournament. While both Australia and Brazil have showed interest, FIFA president Gianni Infantino opened to the idea of having the United States hosting again while Morocco, Spain and Portugal can potentially host the tournament as it happened this summer in preparation for the World Cup that will take place in those countries in 2030. Qatar has also expressed interest in hosting the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup, but it would also affect the schedule of the European leagues as it happened for the 2022 World Cup that took place from November to December, shifting the schedule of that season for the majority of the European leagues and more.