Thirty-two teams will now play 63 games in 11 host cities across the United States over a period of four weeks. Like the most recent World Cup, there will be a group stage with the best two teams from each of the eight groups progressing to the last-16 knockout stage.
Right, so the best 32 teams in the world then …Well … not exactly. With all due respect to Asia, Africa, North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Oceania, the 32 best club teams on Earth are almost certainly in Europe and South America. But this is a World Cup, so the teams are mainly made up of clubs who have won their respective continental championships over the last four years (so, for example, recent winners of the Champions League get in from Europe).
Teams playing AFC (Asia)
Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia (winners of the 2021 AFC Champions League)
Urawa Red Diamonds, Japan (winners of the 2022 AFC Champions League)
Al Ain, UAE (winners of the 2023–24 AFC Champions League)
Ulsan, South Korea (best-ranked eligible team in the AFC four-year ranking)
Caf (Africa)
Al-Ahly, Egypt (winners of the 2020–21 Caf Champions League)
Wydad, Morocco (winners of the 2021–22 Caf Champions League)
Espérance de Tunis, Tunisia (best-ranked eligible team in the Caf four-year ranking)
Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa (second-best ranked eligi-ble team in the Caf four-year ranking)
Concacaf (North, Central Ame-rica, and the Caribbean)
Monterrey, Mexico (winners of the 2021 Concacaf Champions League)
Seattle Sounders, USA (winners of the 2022 Concacaf Champions League)
Pachuca, Mexico (winners of the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup)
Los Angeles FC, USA (winners of play-off match)
Conmebol (South America)
Palmeiras, Brazil (winners of the 2021 Copa Libertadores)
Flamengo, Brazil (winners of the 2022 Copa Libertadores)
Fluminense, Brazil (winners of the 2023 Copa Libertadores)
Botafogo, Brazil (winners of the 2024 Copa Libertadores)
River Plate, Argentina (best-ranked eligible team in the Conmebol four-year ranking)
Boca Juniors, Argentina (second-best ranked eligible team in the Conmebol four-year ranking)
Uefa (Europe)
Chelsea, England (winners of the 2020–21 Uefa Champions League)
Real Madrid, Spain (winners of the 2021–22 Uefa Champions League)
Manchester City, England (winners of the 2022–23 Uefa Champions League)
Bayern Munich, Germany (best-ranked eligible team in the Uefa four-year ranking)
Paris Saint-Germain, France (second-best ranked eligible team in the Uefa four-year ranking)
Internazionale, Italy (fourth-best ranked eligible team in the Uefa four-year ranking)
Porto, Portugal (fifth-best ranked eligible team in the Uefa four-year ranking)
Benfica, Portugal (seventh-best ranked eligible team in the Uefa four-year ranking)
Borussia Dortmund, Germany (Third-best ranked eligible team in the Uefa four-year ranking)
Juventus, Italy (Eighth-best ranked eligible team in the Uefa four-year ranking)
Atlético Madrid, Spain (Sixth-best ranked eligible team in the Uefa four-year ranking)
Red Bull Salzburg, Austria (Ninth-best ranked eligible team in the Uefa four-year ranking)
OFC (Oceania)
Auckland City, New Zealand (best OFC Champions League winners in the OFC four-year ranking)
What kind of prize money is involved? Quite a lot. The total prize pool for the tournament is $1bn. Yes, with a B. Just over half of that total goes to the clubs just for being there, and different teams have received differently-sized payouts for their participation, depending on where they hail from.
Oceania’s representative gets $3.58m just for showing up. Afri-can, Asian, and North American clubs $9.55m. South American sides get $15.21m, while European teams will get anywhere from $12.81m to $38.19m, depending on what Fifa calls “sporting and commercial criteria” (in other words: how famous and good they are).
The remaining $425m is distributed based on performance in the tournament. Teams earn $2m for a win and $1m for a draw in the group stage, $7.5m for making the round of 16, $13.1m for making a quarter-final, $21m for making a semi-final, $30m for making the final, and ano-ther $40m for winning.
The FIFA World Club Cup
