FIFA, never shy of seeking ways to make more money, are gambling on a revamped version of their Club World Cup to help bring in the bacon in the off-years of their international edition of the tournament.
The revamped Club World Cup has been expanded to 32 teams and will be played in the summer months, with the United States adding some razzmatazz to the inaugural edition in 2025.
A new era for club football 🏆
FIFA has unveiled the emblem for the inaugural 32-team FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, the most inclusive competition in the history of club football.
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) September 4, 2024
You sense that FIFA, and particularly the governing body’s president Gianni Infantino, would like to make the Club World Cup as prestigious as the international version… but he and they may be in for a hard time convincing anyone on that front.
Chelsea have qualified for the 2025 edition, where they will join Manchester City in representing the Premier League, and so once again the boys in blue will be without a summer off.
The Club World Cup final is scheduled for July 14 too; should Chelsea make it that far, they would have just a matter of days off before their preparations for the 2025/26 domestic campaign kick in.
That would affect the players’ fitness and wellbeing… while potentially breaking their contracts.
“The leagues and the players’ unions are not happy with the decisions that are being taken at a global level,” revealed Premier League chief Richard Masters.
“All players are supposed to have three weeks off as part of the contractual commitment. So how does that work? With great difficulty, I would say.”
Although it’s a competition that is hard to love, Chelsea have featured in the Club World Cup before – reaching two finals, no less, in both of their appearances thus far.
And it would be fair to say that the Blues’ results in that pair of outings was a rather mixed bag…
The Nightmare of Yokohama
| Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Semi-Final | Monterrey | 3-1 Win |
| Final | Corinthians | 1-0 Loss |
Having won the Champions League during the 2011/12 season, Chelsea were to be UEFA’s representative at the Club World Cup in December 2012.
Back then, the two clubs representing UEFA and the CONMEBOL jurisdiction received a bye straight through to the semi-finals, where they would take on an opponent that had battled through the earlier rounds.
And so that was how Chelsea found themselves tackling Mexican outfit Monterrey in the Club World Cup semi-finals at Yokohama’s International Stadium on December 13, 2012.
Rafa Benitez had taken his strongest squad to Japan, and was rewarded with a fine 3-1 win in that semi-final, courtesy of strikes from Juan Mata and Fernando Torres plus a Monterrey own goal.
The final, held at the same venue three days later, saw Chelsea meet the Brazilian side Corinthians, who had previous in the Club World Cup given that they – football quiz team members assemble – won the inaugural hosting of the tournament back in the year 2000.
This was a decent Corinthians outfit too, coached by Tite – who would go on to win Copa America with Brazil in 2019 – and with a playing squad that included future Tottenham and Barcelona star Paulinho and Ballon d’Or nominee Paolo Guerrero.
The Brazilians were a well-disciplined and organised bunch who Chelsea found very difficult to break down; so much so, Benitez substituted the likes of Eden Hazard and Victor Moses in the quest for a breakthrough.
But that would not be forthcoming, and in true cruel football fashion, Guerrero would instead steal in to nick the trophy for Corinthians.
Kings of the World
| Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Semi-Final | Al-Hilal | 1-0 Win |
| Final | Palmeiras | 2-1 Win AET |
Chelsea would have to wait another nine years for their next Club World Cup appearance.
That would come in the 2021 edition of the tournament, which was actually played in February 2022 in the United Arab Emirates.
The Blues, having won the 2020/21 Champions League, scored an invite to the CWC and were once again sworn straight through to the semi-final stage.
There they would meet Saudi Arabian outfit Al Hilal, and with Thomas Tuchel treating the Club World Cup with maximum respect, his strong starting eleven proved too strong – Romelu Lukaku netting the winning goal.
That booked another final against Brazilian opposition… this time in the form of Palmeiras, the Copa Libertadores champions.
A conservative first-half gave way to a titanic second period, which came alive after 54 minutes when Lukaku once again found the net.
Palmeiras came out of their defensive 4-2-3-1 shape and suddenly looked more dangerous, getting their reward when Raphael Veiga netted from the penalty spot after a harsh handball call on Thiago Silva.
That forced the tie into extra time – the last thing Tuchel wanted, given that the game was taking place in the middle of the Premier League season, but the heart and desire of his players would be rewarded.
This time, Palmeiras defender Luan was penalised for handball, handing Kai Havertz the chance to notch a late winner from the spot.
The German duly obliged, and Chelsea were crowned Club World Cup champions for the first time.