Concerns have been raised about the physical and mental health of players after FIFA added the 32-team tournament to the already crowded calendar.
Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s head of global football development, said on Tuesday that there had been “significant improvements in wellbeing” in areas such as nutrition, injury prevention and medical technology, and players were performing at the highest level for longer.
He added, “We see players winning international awards such as Messi, Ronaldo, and Karim Benzema, all of whom are over the age of 35. It is not unusual to see international careers lasting for more than 20 years. Until not long ago, this was not possible.”
Wenger continued, “The positive impact of this on clubs will be enormous, because it will increase the resources of clubs around the world to develop and compete. There is a demand for big competitions in football, and there was good support for this tournament.”
The first modified edition of the Club World Cup will be held in the United States from June 15 to July 13, 2025.
The Club World Cup will turn into two tournaments
• FIFA announced that the Club World Cup currently underway in Saudi Arabia is the last in its current form, as the tournament will be developed into two separate tournaments, one major and one minor.
• The major tournament will resemble the World Cup for teams, and will include 32 clubs from all continents, according to their continental achievements and continental classification.
• The tournament will start in the summer of 2025, and will become a summer tournament held every two years or every four years, as this has not been revealed yet.
• The tournament system will be identical to the 2022 World Cup system in Qatar, as it includes 8 groups, followed by the knockout rounds and then the final.
• As for the minor tournament, FIFA approved the launch of an annual tournament, which includes the world’s clubs, and is held in December of each year, generally similar to the current Club World Cup.
• The tournament will include two “tracks”, the first for the champions of Asia, Africa and Oceania, and the second track for the champions of South America and North America.
• The winners of the two tracks will meet in a decisive match, in which the winner will face the Champions League champion, on neutral ground.
• The tournament will be limited to the Champions League champion, who will play a direct final match with a champion from another continent.
2023-12-20 03:03:53
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