FIFA unlikely to invite Barcelona to participate in new Club World Cup in 2025: Reports
FIFA will reportedly not invite Spanish champions Barcelona to participate in the new-look FIFA Club World Cup in 2025. La Blaugrana are not in the good books of football's governing body and have not been very successful in recent years.
According to SPORT, the new version of the FIFA Club World Cup, which will feature 32 teams from around the world, is set to commence in the summer of 2025. This marks a change in the current format, which involves only six teams.
FIFA have allocated 12 slots in the tournament to teams from Europe, with two of the slots going to clubs from Spain. Real Madrid have secured their participation in the competition by winning the UEFA Champions League in 2022.
The second slot for Spanish football will either go to Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, and the latter are looking likelier to claim it. To beat Diego Simeone's side to the slot, Xavi's side must surpass them by at least seven points this season, or win the UEFA Champions League.
The governing body has the right to invite two teams per country for the tournament, regardless of their performance. Barcelona are not likely to be one of the teams that will be considered for this exemption due to strained relations with FIFA.
Barcelona are in support of the proposed Super League, with club president Joan Laporta in talks with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. They are the only two teams in support of the tournament, with most of Europe's top sides having openly renounced it.
Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Manchester City have already booked their tickets for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup by virtue of being the most recent Champions League winners. They will be joined by other European sides, including Bayern Munich, FC Porto, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, and Benfica.
Barcelona need a big season to reach Club World Cup
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will take place in the United States of America in the summer. Barcelona look increasingly likely to miss out on the tournament and its attendant goodies.
Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid and RB Leipzig are ahead of the Spanish giants, according to UEFA's coefficient rankings. All three clubs could potentially make it to the tournament, alongside the winners of this season's Champions League.
La Blaugrana must bank on their own success to find a way into the Club World Cup in 2025, as there would likely be no favors. They need to play in the tournament, as they are one of European football's proudest institutions.