Set to take place in the United States from June 15 to July 13, 2025, the restructured global club football competition will bring together 32 teams from across the world to vie for the title of world champions.

The draw, held on Thursday, December 5, 2024, in Miami, showcased an impressive lineup of continental and domestic champions from every corner of the globe.

Among the standout contenders are Spain's Real Madrid, the UEFA Champions League winners, Brazil's Botafogo, the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores champions, and Egypt's Al Ahly, who are consecutive CAF Champions League winners.

New Format

Traditionally featuring six to eight teams, the FIFA Club World Cup will now adopt a new format, hosting the largest number of participants in its history. Teams earned qualification by winning their respective continental club tournaments, such as the UEFA Champions League, and based on the confederations' four-year rankings.

South America (CONMEBOL) includes six teams, whereas Europe (whose confederation is UEFA) has twelve, making up the largest representation of the 32 teams.

There are four teams from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), Africa (AFC), and Asia (AFC).

Lionel Messi's Inter Miami was given a spot, as the domestic champions of the host country, Oceania (OFC) got one spot as well. The top two from each of the 8 groups will advance to the knockout stages after a round-robin group stage.

The final will take place at the iconic MetLife Stadium in New York New Jersey on 13 July.

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FIFA Club World Cup Groups

When is the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup?

The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will take place from June 15 to July 13, 2025, in the United States of America.

How many teams will take part in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025?

A total of 32 teams from 6 continents will take part in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.

Real Madrid have issued an official statement amid the rumours of boycotting the Copa del Rey 2025 final against FC Barcelona on Saturday after the statements of referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea. 

Referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea was brought to tears in the press conference after Real Madrid released a video highlighting his mistakes from the past. 

Here is the statement made by Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea in the press conference. 

“When a child of yours goes to school and there are kids telling him that his father is a ‘thief’ and comes home crying, it’s totally messed up,” he told reporters.

“What I do is try to educate my son, to say that his father is honest, above all honest, who can make mistakes, like any sportsperson.

“This is really messed up... but the day I leave (the job), I want my son to be proud of what his father is, and what refereeing is, it has given us many values," this is what Bengoetxea said. 

🎙️ "Lo que hago es intentar educar a mi hijo para decirle que es honrado, pero que se equivoca como una persona más".

➡️ "Quiero que mi hijo esté orgulloso de lo que es su padre".

🗣️ Ricardo de Burgos Bengoechea, árbitro principal.#CopaDelReyMAPFRE | #LaCopaMola🏆 pic.twitter.com/GzxSTCsvl9

— RFEF (@rfef) April 25, 2025

Here is Real Madrid's video highlighting his mistakes -

Real Madrid TV have released a video going after the referee who will oversee the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona (Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea)
pic.twitter.com/utqUrXriyN

— Luis Mazariegos (@luism8989) April 24, 2025

After the statement of Bengoetxea, Real Madrid want the referee for the final to be changed. Although there are no signs of a change in the official stance of the Federation.

Here is the official statement from Real Madrid regarding the issue -

Real Madrid have cancelled their training and press conference as well. But, the Federation is hopeful of completing the final with no issue. 

Premier League, also known as English Premier League, is a top-tier football league in England. This league consists of 20 teams in a league system with a relegation and promotion system to/from the English Championship.

Each team plays 38 matches against every other 19 at home and away. The seasons generally start in August and run till May. The Premier League is the most-watched sports league globally and is broadcast in over 200 territories with an average number of viewers of 4.7 billion.

The top 4 finishers of every year qualify directly for the UEFA Champions League. Also, the Premier League is the most valuable sports league in the world, with a valuation of 4 billion pounds.

This league also has a direct effect on the economy of England. Different regions have different clubs with private ownership. The prize money for the winning team is 125 million pounds. Along with this winning amount, TV/ broadcast money also gets added. And the rest of the sponsorship money is equally distributed among the other 19 clubs.

Read also- Most Bundesliga titles till 2023

Premier League: History

The Football League First Division was the top-tier football league in England from 1888. But, post-1970s and early 1980s, the league started to reach a low point with incidents like the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster, which got them banned from UEFA Compettions for 5 years. 

But after England reached the 1990 FIFA World Cup semi-finals, the downward trend started to reverse. The stadium started to get filled, and the Taylor Report on stadium safety standards also helped clubs to create better standard stadiums. 

After a dispute over TV rights and maximising the club revenue, the big five clubs, Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, and Arsenal opted to come out of the Football League First Division and create another league. 

At the close of the 1990-91 season, the FA Premier League was formed, and from 1992-93 the Premier League era started with 22 teams. Manchester United were the first Premier League champions and went on to win seven of the first nine trophies.

Who has won the most Premier League titles?

Till now, 51 teams have played in the Premier League since the tournament was rebranded in 1992. 7 teams have successfully won the Premier League title. Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Tottenham are considered the 'Big Six' in the Premier League. Unfortunately, Tottenham haven't lifted any major title in their history, but still, they go toe to toe with every club and take part in the title race.

Most Premier League titles won by the clubs

Most Premier League Titles

7. Liverpool FC - 1 title

The Anfield Giants are one of the most popular English Clubs. Midfield maestros Steven Gerrard and William Shankly were a few of the legends that the club produced.

However, Liverpool had to wait for 30 years for their first-ever Premier League title. The club won the Premier League once in 2019-20 under German tactician Jurgen Klopp. That was Liverpool's nineteenth overall title in England's top-tier football. 

Mohamed Salah, with 19 goals, was one of the star performers for the Reds in that season. 

6. Leicester City - 1 title

In the 2015-16 Premier League season, Leicester City won the title in the Premier League. They were considered to be an underdog before but they overcame the rough phase and won the Premier League title in the club's 132-year history.

Striker Jamie Vardy broke the record for consecutive games with a goal in the Premier League (11). Meanwhile, Riyad Mahrez became both the first African and Algerian player to be the recipient of the PFA Players' Player of the Year.

Also Read: Football Facts: Son-Father Football Pair Who Played For Same Club

5. Blackburn Rovers - 1 title

Blackburn Rovers was one of the 22 founding members of the Premier League era. They won the Premier League a long time ago in the 1994-95 season. Alan Shearer, with 34 goals for them, was the top scorer of the season. However, they were relegated in the 1998–99 season, becoming one of the 42 teams that were relegated as the Premier League champions.

Right after two seasons, they were promoted again in the 2000-01 season, but they were relegated yet once again, and that too in the same season. Unfortunately, they have not returned to the Premier League since then.

4. Arsenal FC - 3 titles

The London Giants Arsenal are one of the most famous football clubs on planet earth. They have won the title 3 times in the years 1997-98, 2001-02, and 2003-04.

They were the first club to create Premier League history by maintaining a 38-game unbeaten streak to win the title in 2003-04.

In domestic football, Arsenal has won 13 league titles, a record 14 FA Cups, two League Cups, and 17 FA Community Shields, but they haven't won a single European title yet.

Read Also: The Invincibles: 8 times a football team won their league undefeated

3. Chelsea FC - 5 titles

Another London club, Chelsea, is on this list, and there is no doubt why they are the best London Club in the Premier League. They won the title 5 times in the years 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, 2014-15, and 2016-17.

The Blues won their first Premier League title under the 'Special One' Jose Mourinho, who completely changed the face of this London Club alongside Roman Abramovich, who was the Chelsea owner at that time.

They have also won the Champions League 2 times, alongside 2 Europa League titles. 

2. Manchester City - 8 titles

Manchester City, the Blue side of Manchester, are the reigning champions of England and Europe. This team have won the title 7 times in the years 2011-12, 2013-14, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24.

In the 2023-24 season, Manchester City became the first club to win the Premier League for a record fourth consecutive season. No side in English football history had ever won the top-flight more than three years back-to-back.

They are the second Club after Manchester United to complete the three-pit in the Premier League and win the European treble.

The club has won nine league titles, seven FA Cups, eight League Cups, six FA Community Shields, one UEFA Champions League, one European Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, and one FIFA Club World Cup.

Read Also | Barcelona 2008/09 vs Man City 2022/23 - which Pep Guardiola treble team is better?

1. Manchester United - 13 titles

The team with the most Premier League Titles is Manchester United, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. They are the most successful team in the English Premier League and also the most famous English Club on the Entire Planet Earth. United were also the first-ever team to win the Premier League.

They were the first English club to ever win the European treble, and that remained a record until Manchester City finally matched it in the 2022-23 season. Manchester United won the titles in 1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2010-11, and 2012-13.

Read Also | 15 most successful football clubs in England

They have also won the most number of trophies in England, and that happened because of the Scottish manager Sir Alex Ferguson. He managed Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. Sir Alex is widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and has won more trophies than any other manager in the history of football

Madrid became the capital city of sport tonight as the Laureus World Sports Awards celebrated its 25th anniversary by gathering the greatest athletes not only of the past 12 months, but of the 21st Century.

Simone Biles and Rebecca Andrade – friends, rivals and Olympic champions from the world of gymnastics – were both winners here; both sides of Spanish football’s great duopoly were represented on the winners’ podium, as Real Madrid and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal were honoured; and Olympic and Paralympic heroes including Mondo Duplantis, Tom Pidcock and Jijang Yuan added a Laureus to their laurels.

Standing alongside the world’s greatest athletes were leaders from the inspirational Lesotho-based football programme Kick4Life, recipients of the 2025 Laureus Sport for Good Award.

25 years after the inaugural Laureus World Sports Awards were held in Monaco in 2000, this special anniversary edition of the greatest show in sports was also a celebration of the growth of Laureus as a unique sporting movement, encompassing the world-famous Awards and the year-round work of Laureus Sport for Good in over 40 countries.

The Awards evening launched a multi-media wave of posts, coverage and broadcast around the world, as athletes, media and bloggers reacted to this year’s winners – each presented with ‘The Laureus’ - the coveted statuette awarded to the winner in each category and the prize the greatest athletes in the world value above all other Awards – voted on by the 69 sporting legends of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

Meetings that only happen at the Laureus World Sports Awards 🤝#Laureus25 | #OnlyAtLaureus pic.twitter.com/I9I2KyulGw

— Laureus (@LaureusSport) April 21, 2025

And this year, the body awarded two additional statuettes, honouring 22-time Grand Slam tennis champion Rafael Nadal and Kelly Slater, an 11-time world champion in surfing.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games were at the heart of the sporting year in 2024, and this year’s list of Laureus winners includes several athletes who added a Laureus to their collection of gold.

It was the fourth time lucky for the greatest pole-vaulter of all time, Mondo Duplantis. He was awarded the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award after being nominated in each of the last three years and is the second track-and-field athlete to win this Award, after four-time winner Usain Bolt.

Still just 25 years old, the Swede shows no signs of loosening his grip over the competition following another historic year. After winning his second World Indoor Championship gold medal in March, Duplantis broke his own world record for a remarkable ninth time in 2024 on the way to gold in Paris, before shattering it again at the Silesia Diamond League meeting the following month. Duplantis received his Award from last year’s winner, Novak Djokovic.

Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, Mondo Duplantis: “I am incredibly honoured to have won my first Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award in the sporting capital of Madrid and to have the great Usain Bolt pay tribute to me, who I follow as the second track and field athlete to win this Award.

“The Laureus Awards are the ultimate awards that we athletes want to win. I know because this is the fourth time I have been nominated – and that proves it’s harder to win a Laureus than an Olympic gold medal!

“I’ll never forget receiving this beautiful Laureus from the great Novak Djokovic – I’m following in the footsteps of giants like Novak, Usain, Rafael Nadal and Lionel Messi. The list of past winners of this Award is like a history of sporting greatness over the past 25 years.

“The Laureus Awards represent something more than sporting achievement. The fact that they are voted on by the 69 world-class athletes of the Laureus World Sports Academy elevates them to another level. These are athletes who know the dedication and commitment that lies behind sporting successes; they have set the mark that athletes like me strive for. To be recognised by them is truly something special.

“Finally, I must also acknowledge Laureus’ broader mission of using sport as a vehicle for change in the world. The work of Laureus Sport for Good has transformed lives around the world, and – as the Awards celebrate its 25th anniversary – it is important to reflect on the enormous legacy that it has created. It’s a legacy I am proud to be a part of.” 

Simone Biles’ breathtaking displays in the French capital saw her named Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year for the fourth time, equalling the record held by tennis great and compatriot Serena Williams – they both also have one Comeback of the Year Award.

Biles called the Paris Games her ‘redemption tour’ after taking a break from the sport, and the most decorated gymnast in history produced a stunning performance, picking up three golds and a silver. One year after winning that Comeback of the Year Award, her redemption is complete.

Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year, Simone Biles: “I’m so happy to be here in Madrid and to receive my fourth Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award.

“I won this Award for the first time in 2017, and Laureus has been a part of my story since then. And I share their belief that sport has the power to change the world. That might be a little girl watching someone like me on television and deciding she can do it, too. Or it could be the incredible work Laureus Sport for Good has undertaken for the past 25 years, all over the world.

“I’d like to thank the legendary members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, who vote for the winners. It must be an almost impossible job, but their unique personal experiences of sport at the highest level gives them an understanding of what it takes to be the very best. Their generation has inspired us, athletes standing here before you. That is why the Laureus Awards truly are the ‘Athletes Awards’ and I am proud to have added to my ‘Laureus’ collection.”

Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade completed her inspirational return from career-threatening injuries at the Paris Games, and she is this year’s recipient of the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.

Andrade considered quitting the sport in the wake of a series of soul-crushing injuries, including three anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, and agonising rehabilitations. Her long road back to the top was complete when she won gold in the floor competition – a moment memorialised forever by the image of her long-time rival Biles bowing to her as she stood at the top of the podium.

Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award winner, Rebeca Andrade, said: “This beautiful Laureus Statuette represents a huge amount of hard work, of struggle and pain, and also great happiness and one of my most cherished memories – standing on top of the Olympic podium again.

“In the 25-year history of these Awards that have become the ultimate prize for athletes, these stories of resilience have inspired generations of young people. Previous winners of the Comeback of the Year have included some of the greatest athletes of all time, from my fellow Brazilian, Ronaldo, to Simone last year.

“And just as our stories reach every corner of the world, we stand here alongside Laureus Sport for Good as they bring together projects from across the globe which use sport to improve the lives of children and young people.

“Individual sports can be isolating, but Paris showed that camaraderie can exist between competitors, and I was so proud to compete alongside last year’s winner of this Award, Simone Biles. Simone and I are the only two gymnasts to win a Laureus Award, and I hope our stories can inspire anyone who has experienced injuries and setbacks to keep fighting through the many obstacles placed in front of them on the long road to recovery.”

Tom Pidcock is the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year after winning the Olympic mountain bike cross-country title in unforgettable fashion.  

His hopes of defending the title he won in Tokyo appeared all but over after suffering a puncture, but after changing wheels, the British rider staged a stirring fightback to reel in leader and home favourite Victor Koretsky before pulling off a daring late overtake in the trees to win gold against the odds.

Pidcock is the fourth British cyclist to win the Action Sportsperson of the Year Award, following Jamie Bestwick (2014), Rachel Atherton (2017) and Beth Shriver (2022).

🏆 Yuyan Jiang is the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability#Laureus25 pic.twitter.com/7AANKAFYac

— Laureus (@LaureusSport) April 21, 2025

Paralympic swimming superstar Jiang Yuyan collected the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award.

Yuyan was the most decorated athlete at the 2024 Paralympic Games, winning seven para swimming golds from seven events in the pool, matching the feat of Laureus Academy Member Mark Spitz.

The 19-year-old also set two individual world records and was honoured as the flagbearer for the Chinese team at the closing ceremony. She is the seventh Chinese winner of a Laureus after Yao Ming (Breakthrough 2003, Spirit of Sport 2015), Liu Xiang (Breakthrough, 2005), China Olympic Team (Team, 2009), Li Na (Exceptional Achievement, 2015), Xia Boyu (Sporting Moment, 2019) and Eileen Gu (Action, 2023).

🏆 Lamine Yamal is the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year#Laureus25 pic.twitter.com/IvBkTEgvXl

— Laureus (@LaureusSport) April 21, 2025

Teen sensation Lamine Yamal was the recipient of the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award after emerging as one of football’s global superstars.

 As part of the Spain team which won Euro 2024, he became the youngest player to score in the European Championships as well as the youngest to feature in the final and was named Best Young Player of the tournament. He is only the second footballer to win this Award, after Jude Bellingham, the Real Madrid midfielder who won it last year.

Real Madrid are the Laureus World Team of the Year 🏆#Laureus25 | @realmadrid pic.twitter.com/rNMY2QiUbQ

— Laureus (@LaureusSport) April 21, 2025

Bellingham did not go unrecognised tonight, either. Real Madrid are quite simply a winning machine and were honoured with the Laureus World Team of the Year Award after a season in which they won La Liga for a record 36th time, delivered a 15th UEFA Champions League/European Cup title, and defeated rivals Barcelona 4-1 in the Supercopa de España.

The club continued to sweep aside all before them at the beginning of the 2024-25 season, winning both the UEFA Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup, an achievement which saw Carlo Ancelotti become Madrid’s most decorated manager.

For 25 years, the Laureus World Sports Awards have seen the greatest athletes in the world share the stage with Laureus Sport for Good programmes that fulfil the mission defined by the founding patron of Laureus at the first Awards: to use the power of sport to change the world. 

Kick4Life is one of over 300 Laureus Sport for Good projects all over the world making a difference in their communities, and they were presented with this year’s Laureus Sport for Good Award in Madrid. Kick4Life uses football to reach at-risk children in Lesotho, promoting health education, life-skills development, gender rights and employability. The inspirational organisation, which was also nominated for this Award in 2022, has reached more than 250,000 young people since it was founded in 2005.

Nominees for the Laureus World Sports Awards are decided by the world’s media, and the winners are voted on by the 69 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy – the ultimate sporting jury. This year, the Academy also included two discretionary Awards.

Rafael Nadal received the Laureus Sporting Icon Award after a year in which he announced the end of one of the greatest careers in the history of professional tennis.  A celebratory video package of his career was specially voiced by Morgan Freeman, who included his own tribute to the Spaniard. This year’s Awards expands on Nadal’s ‘Laureus Slam’ – he is the only athlete to have won the Sportsman of the Year Award, the Comeback of the Year, the Breakthrough of the Year and the Laureus Sport for Good Award.

 Rafael Nadal said, “The Laureus World Sports Awards are important to me. Back in 2006, I won the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award in Barcelona, in front of sporting heroes who had inspired millions of people around the world. Then last year, after twice being named Sportsman of the Year and also winning Comeback of the Year, my foundation was honoured to win the Laureus Sport for Good Award, here in Madrid.”

 “My retirement from competitive tennis made 2024 an emotional year for me, where there were some magical moments like the one in Paris, carrying the Olympic torch. Tennis and sports in general have given me so much; my drive has always been to compete and try my best every time I stepped on the court. Competitive tennis has stopped, and it is time to reflect and to appreciate all the support I receive from everyone – my friends and family, my fans, my fellow athletes.

 “A Sporting Icon? I think that is for other people to decide. But I hope that my career has inspired sports fans beyond tennis. I gave it everything I had. As athletes, we have a unique opportunity to use our influence and inspiration to make a positive impact on the world and as I move into my next chapter, I’m going to hold on to the ideals that I share with Laureus and work with them to achieve the most important thing an athlete can do – changing the world through sport.”

 And Kelly Slater, widely considered the greatest surfer of all time, received the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award. Slater is a four-time winner of the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award and an 11-time World Surf League champion.

The full list of Winners in the Laureus World Sports Awards 2025

The Champions League was earlier called the European Cup, and it started in 1955, and the first winner was Real Madrid. For the next 5 years, Real Madrid did not let anyone get close to the trophy.

Since then, 23 teams have won the glory, with Manchester City being the most recent one. As we get close to another UEFA Champions League final, we take a look at the Champions League winners list since 1965.

The Champions League winners list since 1955/56 is:

1956 - Real Madrid
1957 - Real Madrid
1958 - Real Madrid
1959 - Real Madrid
1960 - Real Madrid
1961 - Benfica
1962 - Benfica
1963 - AC Milan
1964 - Inter Milan
1965 - Inter Milan
1966 - Real Madrid
1967 - Celtic
1968 - Manchester United
1969- AC Milan
1970- Feyenoord
1971 - Ajax
1972 - Ajax
1973 - Ajax
1974 - Bayern
1975 - Bayern
1976 - Bayern
1977 - Liverpool
1978 - Liverpool
1979 - Nottingham Forest
1980 - Nottingham Forest
1981 - Liverpool
1982 - Aston Villa
1983 - Hamburger SV|
1984 - Liverpool
1985 - Juventus FC
1986 - Steaua București
1987 - FC Porto
1988 - PSV
1989 - AC Milan 
1990 - AC Milan
1991 - Red Star Belgrade
1992 - Barcelona
1993 - Olympique de Marseille
1994 - AC Milan
1995 - Ajax
1996 - Juventus FC
1997 - Borussia Dortmund
1998 - Real Madrid
1999 - Manchester United
2000 - Real Madrid
2001 - Bayern 
2002 - Real Madrid
2003 - AC Milan
2004 - Porto
2005 - Liverpool
2006 - Barcelona
2007 - AC Milan
2008 - Manchester United
2009 - Barcelona
2010 - Inter Milan
2011 - Barcelona
2012 - Chelsea FC
2013 - Bayern Munich
2014 - Real Madrid
2015 - Barcelona
2016 - Real Madrid
2017 - Real Madrid
2018 - Real Madrid
2019 - Liverpool
2020 - Bayern Munich
2021 - Chelsea FC
2022 - Real Madrid
2023 - Manchester City
2024 - Real Madrid

Let's have a look at the teams with the most trophies since 1955/56: 

Real Madrid x 15
AC Milan x 7
Bayern x 6 
Liverpool FC x 6
FC Barcelona x 5
Ajax x 4
Inter x 3
Manchester United x 3
Juventus x 2 
Benfica x 2
Nottingham Forest  x 2
Porto x 2
Chelsea x 3
Celtic x 1
Hamburger SV x 1
Steaua București x 1 
Olympique de Marseille x 1
Borussia Dortmund x 1
Feyenoord x 1
Aston Villa x 1
PSV x 1
Red Star Belgrade x 1
Manchester City x 1

Club Leon boss Eduardo Berizzo has come out and slammed FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino over his team being omitted from the 2025 Club World Cup due to rules regarding multiple-club ownership.

“La FIFA ya prepara reemplazantes en vez de esperar a la decisión del TAS”

Eduardo Berizzo, D.T. de León, en conferencia de prensa @FeintSoccerMX #Leon #MundialDeClubes pic.twitter.com/22cRZdFVc0

— Danna Cervantes (@dannapcervantes) April 16, 2025

In March, FIFA decided that Leon were not qualified to play in the first 32-team competition after they failed to match FIFA's multi-club ownership requirements, and Infantino has since donated their place in a playoff game between Club America and Los Angeles FC.

But the Mexican club has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and, at a news conference, Berizzo had some strong words against the decision.

Read Also | FIFA considering play-off game to replace Club Leon at the Club World Cup 2025

Club Leon boss slams FIFA and Infantino

Club Leon's head coach, Eduardo Berizzo, discussed how the decision has affected the team's performance after the club lost to Cruz Azul. He stated:

The FIFA President cannot comment on a supposed replacement without waiting for the ruling. I think his words carry significant weight and he shouldn’t have commented; he should have remained neutral until the CAS ruling.

The rules of competition of the 2025 Club World Cup declared that clubs owned by the same legal entity cannot compete. FIFA decided that Leon and the other Mexican clubs competing in the tournament belonged to the same ownership structure, but Berizzo has criticized FIFA for the lack of transparency. He said:

If the world were the way I wanted it to be, people like that wouldn’t lead organisations like this. FIFA must demonstrate that it is an organisation of integrity, and it isn’t. In the past, it hasn’t been."

Not only with our elimination, but with all this, which involves a fix, a hidden interest to see which team goes, who doesn’t , why teams go, why others leave or why you get eliminated. As long as there’s no clarity or transparency about that, they’ll always remain suspects."

We live in a football world, in organisations and institutions that, instead of representing transparency and setting an example for all citizens, increasingly make us suspicious and make us feel small in the face of what’s happening."

In a football world where everyone should feel supported, a part of, and proud to be a part of, sometimes you feel like running away.

The Leon boss also targeted his country's national association, the Mexican Football Federation. Berizzo claimed:

You feel treated unfairly; you feel part of a football system governed by individuals who work for subterranean interests that make decisions. It's very striking that the Mexican Football Federation hasn't said a word about this issue.

Read Also | FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Draw: Groups, Format, and Schedule