Article by Tudor Belivacă – Published Monday, December 01, 2025, 7:46 p.m. / Updated Monday, December 01, 2025, 7:46 p.m.
After the first edition of the new Club World Championship, which took place this summer in the United States, FIFA is already planning to organize the next tournament, which will take place in four years, in 2029. Five teams have already secured their ticket for the competition organized by FIFA.
Although there is no host country (or countries) yet, it is already known that the competition will be played again in the summer after the regular club season, and it is also not supposed to take place in the Middle East, according to information revealed by The Guardian in August, cited by abola.pt.
5 teams have already qualified for the 2029 Club World Championship
Another aspect that is not yet defined is the number of participating teams. In the last edition, won by Chelsea, 32 clubs played, but FIFA may be under pressure to increase that number to 48.
In addition, the body is considering an alternative structure for the competition, based on a series of knockout matches in the week leading up to the main tournament, with the winners advancing to the final stage.
Anyway, what is known at the moment is that five clubs have already secured their presence at the next edition of the World Cup: Al Ahli, PSG, Cruz Azul (Mexico), Flamengo, Pyramids FC (Egypt).
How the qualification works
The distribution of seats for the 2029 tournament should most likely be the same used for the 2025 tournament. UEFA received the most seats with twelve, while CONMEBOL came in second with six. The AFC, CAF and CONCACAF each received four places, while OFC, from Oceania, and the host federation each received one place.
It should be noted that, on March 14, 2023, the FIFA Council approved the fundamental principles of the access list for the tournament, which are as follows:
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CONMEBOL and UEFA (more than four places): entry for the winners of the confederation's main club competition between 2025 and 2028, with additional teams determined by a four-year club ranking;
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AFC, CAF and CONCACAF (four places each): access for the winners of the confederation's main club competition between 2025 and 2028;
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OFC (one place): entry for the highest-ranked club among the winners of the confederation's main club competition between 2025 and 2028;
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Host Country (one venue): To be determined later.
It was also stipulated that if a club wins its confederation's main club competition two or more times during this period (2025–2028), the additional teams will be determined by a club ranking over the four years. In addition, a restriction of two clubs per federation will apply, except for champion clubs, where more than two clubs from the same federation win their confederation's main club competition.
The calculation method for the four-year club rankings within each confederation is based on the performance of the teams in their respective continental tournaments in the seasons ending between 2025 and 2028. Put simply, the four winners of the UEFA Champions League between 2025 and 2028 will participate from Europe, in addition to the eight teams with the best ranking over the four-year period, if the format of the last edition with 32 clubs is maintained.
