- FIFA have agreed a $1billion deal with DAZN to broadcast 2025 Club World Cup
- LISTEN NOW: Manchester City correspondent Jack Gaughan joins It’s All Kicking Off! to explain whether Pep Guardiola will have money to spend in January
DAZN will broadcast the 2025 Club World Cup as part of a $1billion (£787m) deal with FIFA, it has been announced.
All 63 of the matches in the expanded 32-team tournament will be free to view on DAZN’s streaming platform.
The agreement comes after FIFA failed to agree terms with any TV broadcasters, with president Gianni Infantino trying to drum up interest at an emergency meeting in September.
Infantino called it the ‘the most widely accessible club football tournament ever’.
Chelsea and Manchester City will represent England due to their performance 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 across 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 widely accessible club football tournament ever,’ Infantino said in a statement.
FIFA have announced a $1billion (£787m) deal with DAZN to broadcast the 2025 Club World Cup
Manchester City and Chelsea are the two English clubs who will compete in the tournament
‘The new FIFA Club World Cup is a merit-based, inclusive tournament that will be the pinnacle of global club football, capturing the imagination of players and fans across the world.’
The 2025 Club World Cup will be contested by 32 clubs from the six continental confederations and will be the first edition in this format to take place in the United States.
Chelsea and Manchester City will compete in the tournament as a result of winning the Champions League in 2021 and 2023 respectively.
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG are also set to be involved in the tournament that will run 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 that the teams are in and there could be some interesting match-ups on the way.
Unsurprisingly, Pot 1 boasts the best teams in the competition – with Man City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, Flamengo, Palmeiras, River Plate and Fluminense all in there.
City are reigning champions of the competition after beating Brazilian outfit Fluminense 4-0 in the final last year.
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 due to the fact they are – along with City and Madrid – one of the last three teams to win the Champions League.
The draw for the 2025 Club World Cup draw is set to take place on Thursday
Manchester City will be looking to retain their title after winning the competition last year
While they may have struggled in the years that followed their European success, they look to have finally found stability under new boss Enzo Maresca.
Meanwhile, Pot 3 and Pot 4 are made up of a number of teams from across the globe including Neymar’s Al-Hilal and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
FIFA are poised to introduce a major rule change for the Club World Cup, according to reports.
As reported by Sky Sports, clubs will have to take their strongest squads to the tournament and field their strongest teams.