FIFA announced the twelve venues for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup on Saturday. The final will take place on July 13 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The tournament starts on June 15th.

This venue includes Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta), Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina), TQL Stadium (Cincinnati), Rose Bowl Stadium (Los Angeles), Hard Rock Stadium (Miami) and the GEODIS Park (Nashville). , Tennessee), Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida), Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando), Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia), Lumen Field (Seattle), and Audi Field (Washington, DC).

“Football is the most popular sport on the planet and a new era for club soccer begins in 2025 when FIFA hosts the largest, most comprehensive and competitive global club competition here in the United States,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who announced the Announcement made at the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park, New York. “The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will feature 12 fantastic stadiums where great players from the 32 best clubs in the world will write a new chapter in global football history.”

The draw is scheduled to begin in December and only two qualifiers have yet to be named, one from South America and one from the United States. Further information on the draw, which will divide the 32 clubs into eight groups of four, will be published in due course.

The Club World Cup will be played primarily on the east coast to avoid clashing with the 2025 Gold Cup games, which will take place on the west coast from June 14 to July 6. The Seattle Sounders’ qualification for the Club World Cup complicated logistics, prompting FIFA sources told ESPN to consider Lumen Field as a venue.

FIFA faced backlash from other football organizations over its organization of this tournament, including FIFPRO and the Professional Footballers’ Association in England, with many raising concerns about fixture congestion and an increase in matches. The Premier League in particular questioned the timing of the tournament during the summer window, a time frame typically used for international windows, sources told ESPN.

Despite concerns, Infantino gave the green light to the 2025 competition and made several changes. The next edition of the competition will now feature 32 teams competing after FIFA announced an expansion of its seven-club format for 2023

Infantino continued. “This new FIFA competition is the only true example in global club football of true solidarity and inclusivity, enabling the best clubs from Africa, Asia, Central and North America and Oceania to compete against the top performers from Europe and South America in an incredible new World Cup. “This will have a huge impact on the growth of club football and talent worldwide.

“This is about opportunity and hope for those who need it most, and also about prestige and real football for those who make our sport shine. My thanks go to everyone.”