* The inaugural tournament kicks off on Saturday in the United States pitting 32 teams including the winners of the four previous continental championships
* SuperSport to broadcast all 63 Games of the 21st edition of FIFA’s flagship international club competition live on ‘Your World of Champions’
SkySports
Cristiano Ronaldo has said he will not play at the upcoming inaugural FIFA World Cup after turning down offers from participating teams.
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The 40-year-old’s contract with Saudi Pro League club, Al Nassr, who have not qualified for the tournament in the United States, expires at the end of June.
Earlier this year, FIFA president Gianni Infantino raised the prospect of Portugal captain Ronaldo joining one of the sides involved in the competition, which starts next Saturday June 14 to July 13.
Speaking ahead of his country’s Nations League final against Spain in Munich, the forward said he will not be at the Club World Cup.
“Some teams reached out to me — some made sense and others did not, but you can’t try and do everything. You can’t catch every ball.”
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Ronaldo’s club future remains unclear. He posted “this chapter is over” on social media following Al Nassr’s final league game of the season in May.
However, according to reports, he could agree a new deal to remain with the club he joined from Manchester United in 2023.
Meanwhile, all 63 matches of the FIFA Club World Cup 25 will be available live on ‘Your World of Champions’, SuperSport on DStv and GOtv after MultiChoice acquired the broadcast rights for Sub-Saharan Africa.
The brand-new expanded FIFA Club World Cup format will debut in the United States this year and being the 21st edition of FIFA’s flagship international club competition — featuring some of the biggest clubs and the biggest names in the football universe.
Africa will be represented by four club’s, South Africa’s Premier Soccer League champions, Mamelodi Sundowns, who won the 2016 CAF Champions League, alongside Egyptian giants Al Ahly, Wydad AC (currently coached by former Sundowns and Orlando Pirates coach Rhulani Mokwena) and Espérance de Tunis from Tunisia.
Mamelodi Sundowns
Al Ahly
Wydad Casablanca
Esperance de Tunis
Twelve European giants will feature in the competition, including tournament holders Manchester City, Spanish giants and record five-time winners Real Madrid, 2021 winners Chelsea, two-time winners Bayern Munich, as well as Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan and Porto.
The FIFA Club World Cup 25 is planned to be the first under an expanded format with 32 teams including the winners of the four previous continental championships.
According to FIFA website, the expanded tournament format was announced in March 2019 and originally scheduled to be hosted by China in 2021 until a postponement due to the CoVID-19 pandemic.
FIFA approved the allocation of slots between confederations in February 2023 and announced the United States as the host country four months later.
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The expansion of the tournament was met with criticism by players’ Union FIFPRO and the World League Forum due to the impact it is expected to have on fixture congestion and player welfare.
Since its return from hiatus in 2005, the FIFA Club World Cup had been held annually in December and was limited to the winners of continental club competitions and according to FIFA website, as early as late 2016, FIFA president Gianni Infantino suggested expanding the Club World Cup to 32 teams beginning in 2019 and rescheduling it to June/July to be more balanced and attractive to broadcasters and sponsors.
In late 2017, FIFA discussed proposals to expand the competition to 24 teams and have it be played every four years starting in 2021, replacing the FIFA Confederations Cup, which was being played in the host country of FIFA World Cup.—Additional reporting by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
