Football continues to become more and more competitive, and clubs like FC Barcelona have to keep up with the changing times. As the sport’s future becomes bolder, the schedule becomes more compact and much more demanding than ever before.
As such, Barcelona and other European sides continue to strive to assemble a well-rounded squad. Within this new and more intense schedule, more games are being included with little gaps in between.
Even in the previous FIFA World Cup that was held in December of 2022, the tournament was conducted midway through the official club season. However, just as UEFA plans to expand the format of the Champions League, FIFA is also hoping to follow suit.
As highlighted by SPORT, FIFA is expanding the next Club World Cup and including 32 different teams. Scheduled to take place between June and July of 2025, the competition will include a variety of challengers.
First and foremost, all the various continental champions are set to be included. Moreover, this specific format will include winners of the last four iterations of the Champions League.
This means that Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Chelsea are already guaranteed their spots. They will be joined by the winners of this season’s Champions League as well.
Other teams that are already qualified include Al Hilal, Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca, Monterrey, Seattle Sounders, Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense, Urawa Red Diamonds, and Club León. However, Barcelona also has a shot at entering this prestigious list of clubs to play in the tournament.
One way of qualifying would be to win the current 2023/24 edition of the UEFA Champions League. Another way that Barcelona could enter as a qualified team is through the UEFA rankings, as the tournament will look at the top eight teams in those rankings between 2021 and 2024.
The format of the tournament itself is set to include eight initial groups. Each group will have four participating teams, and the top two from each group will qualify for the knockout stages.
This would make 16 teams qualify for the Round of 16. For Barcelona, this tournament could prove to be both a great source of revenue as well as repute should they qualify.
