Inaugural 32-team FIFA Club World Cup groups are revealed

The groups of the inaugural 32-team format of the FIFA Club World Cup are now set with the draw taking place in Miami having created some interesting groups and matches between some of the world’s best teams.

The draw went ahead despite the uncertainty of the tournament going ahead amid legal action taken by the player’s union in FIFPRO regarding their concerns about footballers playing too many matches in a calendar year.

The draw also coincides with the recent agreement between football’s international governing body and streaming platform DAZN to broadcast the event reportedly paying USD 1 billion for next year’s global broadcast rights.

For the layout of the pots, Pot One would consist of four teams from UEFA and CONMEBOL with the highest co-efficient ranking amongst the qualified teams. This would mean Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Flamengo, Palmeiras, River Plate and Fluminense would all place in the premier pot.

Pot Two would be the remaining eight sides from UEFA in Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Porto, Atlético Madrid, Benfica, Juventus and Red Bull Salzburg.

Pot Three would hold the remaining two sides from the CONMEBOL allocation in Boca Juniors and Botafogo. After that, it features the top two sides on co-efficient ranking from the AFC, CAF and CONCACAF being Al-Hilah, Ulsan HD FC, Al Ahly, Wydad, Monterrey and Leon.

Pot Four would consist of the remaining AFC, CONCACAF and CAF sides of Urawa Red Diamonds, Al Ain, Espérance de Tunis, Mamelodi Sundowns, Pachuca and the Seattle Sounders with lone OFC representative in Auckland City and Inter Miami would enter the competition through the host nation slot making up the last place.

Coming into the event, both host country sides Inter Miami and the Seattle Sounders were placed into Group A and B.

This has allowed the Sounders to play their group games at home while Inter Miami will at least have the opening game of their campaign and the tournament in Miami.

There were also some restrictions placed in the draw to ensure competitive balance with the UEFA and CONMEBOL sides within their pots. For instance, the 5th-ranked to 8th-ranked UEFA sides would be drawn into groups containing the top four CONMEBOL sides. The 9th to 12th-ranked UEFA sides would be drawn to groups containing the top four ranked UEFA sides.

The presentation would feature plenty of American A-listers with the likes of Kevin Hart, Will Ferrell, and DJ Khalid representing some of the host cities. 

It would also include a video message from US President-elect Donald Trump wishing FIFA President Gianni Infantino well before the draw started with his daughter Ivanka and her son Theodore being present in the room. They would also draw the first team from Pot One Brazilian side Palmeiras.

The draw itself went without fault and has created some intriguing match-ups to watch out for. This includes games such as Real Madrid vs Al-Hilah, Bayern Munich vs Boca Juniors, Manchester City vs Juventus and PSG vs Seattle Sounders to name a few.

Groups for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup

Group A: Palmeiras (BRA), Porto (POR), Al Ahly (EGY) and Inter Miami CF (USA)

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Atletico Madrid (ESP), Botafogo (BRA) and Seattle Sounders (USA)

Group C: Bayern Munich (GER), Auckland City (NZL), Boca Juniors (ARG), Benfica (POR)

Group D: Flamengo (BRA), Esperance de Tunis (TUN), Chelsea (ENG), Leon (MEX)

Group E: River Plate (ARG), Urawa Red Diamonds (USA), Monterrey (MEX), Inter Milan (ITA)

Group F: Fluminense (BRA), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Ulsan HD (KOR), Mamelodi Sundowns (RSA)

Group G: Manchester City (ENG), Wydad AC (MOR), Al Ain (UAE), Juventus (ITA)

Group H: Real Madrid (ESP), Al Hilal (KSA), Pachuca (MEX), Red Bull Salzburg (AUT)

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The tournament is set to kick off on June 15th between Egyptian side Al Ahly and US side Inter Miami in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium with the final scheduled for July 13th in New York at Metlife Stadium.