- FIFA has signed a $1 billion deal with DAZN to broadcast the 2025 Club World Cup
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DAZN will broadcast the 2025 Club World Cup as part of a $1 billion (£787 million) deal with FIFA, as the global governing body has finally reached an agreement on the much-maligned tournament.
All 63 matches in the expanded 32-team tournament can be viewed for free on DAZN’s streaming platform.
The deal comes after FIFA failed to reach deals with any TV broadcaster, with president Gianni Infantino trying to drum up interest at an emergency meeting in September.
Infantino called it ‘the most accessible club football tournament ever’.
Chelsea and Manchester City will represent England based on their performances in the Champions League over the past four seasons. The only team from CONCACAF, the North American division, will be Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
‘It was imperative for FIFA to ensure that as many football fans as possible around the world could follow the action, and this agreement with DAZN guarantees that in terms of broadcasting, the new FIFA Club World Cup will be the most accessible club football tournament ever. Infantino said in a statement.
FIFA has announced a $1 billion (£787 million) deal with DAZN to broadcast the Club World Cup in 2025.
Manchester City and Chelsea are the two English clubs that will participate in the tournament
“The new FIFA Club World Cup is a merit-based, inclusive tournament that will be the pinnacle of global club football and capture the imagination of players and fans around the world.”
The 2025 Club World Cup will be contested by 32 clubs from the six continental confederations and will be the first edition of this format to take place in the United States.
Chelsea and Manchester City will participate in the tournament on the back of winning the Champions League in 2021 and 2023 respectively.
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG will also be involved in the tournament, which runs from June 15 to July 13 next year.
Clubs from other continents that have qualified include Boca Juniors, River Plate and Al-Hilal.
Ahead of Thursday’s draw, it has been confirmed which pots the teams will be competing in and there could be some interesting matches coming up.
Unsurprisingly, Pot 1 features the best teams in the competition, including Man City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, Flamengo, Palmeiras, River Plate and Fluminense.
City are reigning champions of the competition after beating Brazil’s Fluminense 4-0 in the final last year.
The draw for the 2025 Club World Cup will take place on Thursday
Manchester City will look to retain their title after winning the competition last year
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Meanwhile, Chelsea find themselves in Pot 2 alongside Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, FC Porto, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Juventus and Salzburg.
The Blues managed to qualify for the competition, as they are – along with City and Madrid – one of the last three teams to win the Champions League.
While they may have struggled in the years that followed their European success, they appear to have finally found stability under new boss Enzo Maresca.
Meanwhile, Pot 3 and Pot 4 consist of a number of teams from around the world, including Neymar’s Al-Hilal and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
According to reports, FIFA is about to make a major rule change for the Club World Cup.
As reported by Air sportsclubs will have to bring their strongest teams to the tournament and field their strongest teams.