Trouble at FIFA? The 2025 Club World Cup could be postponed for two important reasons

Published:26/09/2024 - 20:04h

Updated:27/09/2024 - 01:37h

The new FIFA Club World Cup could not be played on the scheduled date in 2025. At FCBN we tell you the reasons why the tournament is at risk

FIFA has several problems to resolve regarding the organization of the Club World Cup in 2025. The tournament, which will change format to be held between June and July of next year with 32 teams, could be postponed due to two important factors that, At the moment, they generate a lot of concern in the FIFA board. On the one hand, the competition has not yet resolved the sale of its television rights.

In principle, the World Cup should be held in the United States from June 15 to July 15, 2025, with an identical format to that of the World Cup from 1998 to 2022. However, there are still no agreements on the tenders corresponding to the broadcast of the 63 matches of the tournament, which is why Gianni Infantino has called a meeting with the main television channels in the world to negotiate the rights. The issue of online streaming is also pending, which is currently exclusive to the FIFA+ platform.

The players' strike also threatens the Club World Cup

On the other hand, there is what is perhaps the most complex mess that FIFA must resolve. The threat of a general strike by footballers has grown in recent weeks after seeing how the number of serious injuries increases as a result of the demanding schedule that players must face with their clubs and national teams. Figures such as Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé and Jules Koundé, as well as coaches of the caliber of Pep Guardiola, Jürgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti have raised their voices against the number of matches that, instead of reducing, increases every year.

The new Club World Cup represents a new challenge for the physical load of elite players, with another summer tournament that shortens the vacations of 32 clubs just before a World Cup year, since in 2026 the World Cup will be held again. Injuries such as those of Marc-André ter Stegen and Rodri Hernández, both suffered last weekend, once again put on the table an issue that, for the moment, FIFA has managed to successfully avoid.