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Jeff Carlisle, American football writer
The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, has been selected as one of the venues to host the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, with FIFA planning to announce a full list of venues in the coming weeks, according to ESPN sources.
Other locations being considered include Lumen Field in Seattle, Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, according to sources, but nothing has been finalized yet.
The Guardian was the first to report the Club World Cup venues, noting that MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, and an undisclosed stadium in the Philadelphia area were also being named.
The Club World Cup has long been a driving force behind FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s efforts to boost the revenues that world football’s governing body generates from the club game. FIFA had planned to launch an expanded 24-team version of the tournament in China in 2021, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
FIFA confirmed in June 2023 that a 32-team Club World Cup will be held in the United States in 2025, with the tournament set to take place over a four-week period from June 15 to July 13.
But FIFA has faced opposition from other stakeholders in the sport. Players, coaches and unions (including FIFPRO and the Professional Footballers’ Association) have expressed concerns about the increased workload. Sources told ESPN that the Premier League is concerned about imposing the Club World Cup in the summer window, a space usually occupied by international football.
Congestion is also occurring in the United States, where the CONCACAF Gold Cup is scheduled to take place over a similar period, June 14-July 6.
To that end, sources say the Club World Cup is set to be held on the East Coast of the United States, while the Gold Cup is set to be held mostly in West Coast stadiums. However, the Seattle Sounders’ involvement has complicated things. Therefore, it is possible that Lumen Field will be included as one of the Club World Cup stadiums.
The tournament logo and audio signature were announced on September 4, but there are still many details to be worked out.
FIFA announced in mid-July that it had launched a broadcast rights bid after reports emerged that talks with Apple had stalled after the tech giant’s $1 billion offer fell far short of FIFA’s $4 billion asking price. The Athletic reported that FIFA had held phone calls with potential broadcasters earlier this week to try to get the process moving, but little progress had been made.
This article uses information from ESPN’s Lizzie Becerano and Mark Ogden.
