It will be the biggest assembly of players who have won the World Cup. That is the setting for the Club World Cup, which kicks off this weekend.
The world of football is set to witness history. The inaugural expanded FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ kicks off on Saturday, 14 June.
It will bring together a dazzling array of international talent. The tournament features 32 of the world’s top club teams. It spans 63 matches across 12 venues in 11 host cities throughout the United States.
Among the standout figures are 26 FIFA World Cup™ winners, representing the tournament’s most decorated era. Players from four different world champion nations are included. They are Argentina, France, Germany, and Spain.
These players have already conquered the globe at the national level. Now, they seek club supremacy.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup-winning Argentina squad is heavily featured, with 13 players. This includes global icon Lionel Messi. He is expected to lead Inter Miami CF in the opening match against Egypt’s Al Ahly FC in Miami.
France’s 2018 champions are also well-represented, including superstar Kylian Mbappé of Real Madrid C.F., and veteran goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, now with Los Angeles FC.
European champions Paris Saint-Germain add French firepower with Ousmane Dembélé, Lucas Hernandez, and Presnel Kimpembe. They are fresh off their continental triumph just weeks ago.
In a tournament designed to showcase global inclusion, players from 81 different countries will feature. This makes it the most internationally representative club competition in football history.
Participating clubs initially named squads of 26 to 35 players. Between 1–10 June, a special transfer window allowed for last-minute reinforcements. 58 new players were registered during that period at a combined transfer value of USD 480.4 million, highlighting the competition’s prestige and ambition.
To ensure maximum flexibility, FIFA has also allowed a limited in-tournament transfer window from 27 June to 3 July, allowing for player additions and replacements under strict guidelines, especially for those whose contracts are set to expire.
As the world watches, the 2025 edition promises to deliver a football spectacle. It also heralds a new era in global club competition. With footballing royalty descending on American soil, the race to crown the first true world club champion begins.
· FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ squad lists contain more FIFA World Cup™ winners than squads who competed in the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup tournaments
· The last four world champion nations are represented among the 32 participating clubs, including 13 of Argentina’s 2022-winning squad
· Players representing 81 countries will feature in the most inclusive global club tournament ever, which kicks off on Saturday, 14 June
The 32 participating clubs have submitted their squad lists for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ and are headlined by some of the greatest players to have competed on the global stage over the last two decades, including 26 FIFA World Cup™ winners.
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FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ squad lists
The new FIFA Club World Cup will see the world’s top 32 club teams compete to be crowned the first true global club world champions across 63 games in 12 venues and 11 Host Cities in the United States (US) – Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington, D.C..
No fewer than 13 of the Argentina squad that lifted international football’s biggest prize in Qatar in 2022 will feature, led by Inter Miami CF’s Lionel Messi, who is likely to feature in the opening game against Al Ahly FC on Saturday 14 June. There are nine of France’s victorious 2018 vintage, including Real Madrid C. F. star Kylian Mbappé and Les Bleus’ then-captain Hugo Lloris of Los Angeles Football Club. Another three, Ousmane Dembélé, Lucas Hernandez and Presnel Kimpembe, come to the US as European club champions having claimed that title late last month with Paris Saint-Germain.
“The list of participants at the inaugural 32-team FIFA Club World Cup is a true reflection of a tournament that will be the most competitive and inclusive of global football, bringing together the best talents from every continent to decide the true FIFA world club champion,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “We have 26 players who will be seeking to be among the first group of stars to raise two World Cups: the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. That is history in the making. Also, with 81 countries represented, the FIFA Club World Cup is helping to make football truly global. The tournament will be the dream of every fan, a month-long football feast.”
Spanish side Atlético de Madrid boast the most FIFA World Cup winners with six while Argentinian giants CA River Plate are next-best with four. The past four world champion nations will each be represented as FC Bayern München’s Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer were in the Germany squad that won in Brazil in 2014, while Inter Miami’s Sergio Busquets and CF Monterrey’s Sergio Ramos were part of the Spain side that triumphed in South Africa in 2010 alongside Real Madrid CF’s new coach Xabi Alonso.
Impressively, nine of the 11 Host Cities will host at least one group-stage game potentially featuring a FIFA World Cup winner, giving the entire fanbase across the US the opportunity to watch the world’s greatest players in person.
Highlighting the global nature of the tournament, the FIFA Club World Cup will see players from all six confederations and 81 countries participating in the tournament, including 22 nations that have never before played in a FIFA World Cup.
Participating clubs were able to name an initial squad of between 26 and 35 players for the new competition with most having reinforced their squad during the extraordinary transfer window that was open from 1 to 10 June. In a flurry of activity, 58 new players were registered for a total value of USD 480.4 million, emphasising the ambitions of clubs as they head into the new global showpiece.
In line with the applicable regulations, there is the potential for participating clubs to replace and add players during a restricted in-competition period from 27 June to 3 July 2025 within a set limit and according to specific limitations. The objective is to encourage clubs and players whose contracts are expiring to find an appropriate solution to facilitate the players’ participation. This will ensure the best players will be playing, while allowing clubs to add new recruits even during the tournament.
DAZN, the world’s leading sports entertainment platform, is the exclusive global broadcaster of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, making every match of the tournament available for free to fans anywhere in the world.
