Man City face Club World Cup heartbreak as FIFA threatened with legal action after huge change

Three of the last five Club World Cups have been won by Premier League clubs – and now FIFA have scrapped the competition for a new 32-team tournament

Manchester City could be denied the chance to defend their FIFA Club World Cup title. The tournament, which was previously played annually, will adopt a new 32-team format and will take place every four years as of June 2025.

The first edition of the revised Club World Cup will take place in the United States. The competition will consist of 12 European clubs; four UEFA Champions League winners from 2020/21 to 2023/24, as well as eight other teams to be determined by club ranking based on the the same four-year period.

Six South American clubs will be selected; four Copa Libertadores winners from 2021 to 2024, plus two other teams. The remainder of the tournament will be made up of four clubs from each of the CONCACAF, AFC and CAF Champions League winners between 2021 and 2024.

Then, the highest-ranked club from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) winners between 2021 and 2024 will be selected too. While City will be determined to defend their crown as world champions, their bid to do so could be derailed.

In an interview with the Press Association, the vice president of the French footballers’ union, David Terrier, claimed that the organisation is considering legal action to tackle football’s congested calendar. Terrier suggested that FIFA’s introduction of a new 32-team tournament has been driven by ‘a thirst for money’.

The vice-president of the UNFP said: “Faced with the refusal of FIFA and UEFA, faced with the addition of competitions, the drastic increase in injuries, mental fatigue which is hitting more and more players, what other answer can we give than to initiate legal proceedings which will allow us to stop the headlong rush promoted by FIFA in its thirst for competition and – no one is fooled – for money?

“It is necessary that it stops. We are already studying at the UNFP the possibilities offered to us to bring the calendar issue before the courts. We can’t be blamed for not trying to find a solution through dialogue. The international calendar is adrift and it is up to us to bring it back to port as quickly as possible using all means at our disposal.”

Terrier also said that the current schedule was already ‘insane’ – even before the new-look Club World Cup – and called on fans to support players. He added: “What I don’t understand, apart from the words of the coaches, some too rare presidents and the medical profession, why (unions and) the players, are the only ones fighting against disruption of the calendar.

“Because this also impacts clubs, whose players are more often injured, and the national leagues which, as in France, are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain TV rights that live up to their expectations.

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“It must be said that the repetition of matches ultimately harms the quality of the show and neither the broadcasters nor the spectators are fooled. Today and tomorrow will be worse, everyone loses. So why are we the only ones to fight? It’s incomprehensible.”