Club World Cup 2025: Winner, Venues and How Teams Qualified
Chelsea’s 3–0 final win over Paris Saint-Germain (per Olympics.com, sports reference) is the easy part of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, and the harder question is who got in and who stayed out. The first edition under the new 32-team format ran from June 14 to July 13 across the United States (FIFA Inside (official media release)), so its results are a fair test of how the expansion worked.
Host country: United States · Dates: June 14 to July 13, 2025 (per FIFA Inside, official media release) · Teams: 32 clubs from six FIFA confederations (Wikipedia (encyclopedia)) · Winner: Chelsea FC (ESPN (sports broadcaster)) · Final score: Chelsea FC 3–0 Paris Saint-Germain (per Olympics.com, sports reference)
Quick snapshot
- Chelsea won the final 3–0 against Paris Saint-Germain (per Olympics.com, sports reference) (BBC Sport (news publisher))
- The tournament ran from June 14 to July 13, 2025 (per FIFA Inside, official media release) (BBC Sport (news publisher))
- 32 teams from 20 countries took part (BBC Sport (news publisher))
- RSSSF names Palmer and João Pedro as the final’s scorers, while Wikipedia’s final summary names other players (RSSSF (football statistics archive); Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
- Prize money reportedly reached up to $125 million for the winner (TopEndSports (sports guide))
- Rose Bowl capacity is listed as 89,702 by RSSSF and 42,959 by Sporting News (Sporting News (sports news outlet))
- The opener was Inter Miami CF v Al Ahly FC at Hard Rock Stadium on June 14, 20:00 local (per FIFA Inside, official media release) (FIFA (official match schedule))
- Round of 16 matches ran from June 28 to July 1 (per ESPN, sports broadcaster) (FIFA (official match schedule))
- The final kicked off at 15:00 local time on Sunday, July 13 (FIFA (official match schedule))
- The tournament moves to a once-every-four-years cycle rather than running annually (per BBC Sport, news publisher)
- Clubs outside the host nation enter through confederation results, with a limit of two clubs per country unless more win their confederation’s competition (per RSSSF, football statistics archive)
Eight fields, one pattern: the headline facts agree across FIFA, broadcasters and reference sites, while the gaps cluster around goalscorers and venue capacity.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tournament | FIFA Club World Cup 2025, the 21st edition, according to Wikipedia (encyclopedia) |
| Host country | United States |
| Dates | June 14 to July 13, 2025 (per FIFA Inside, official media release) |
| Matches | 63 (per FIFA, official match schedule) |
| Teams | 32 clubs from six FIFA confederations (per Wikipedia, encyclopedia) |
| Winner | Chelsea FC (per ESPN, sports broadcaster) |
| Final score | Chelsea FC 3–0 Paris Saint-Germain (per Olympics.com, sports reference) |
| Final venue | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, according to Wikipedia (encyclopedia) |
Who won the Club World Cup 2025?
Chelsea FC won the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, beating Paris Saint-Germain 3–0 in the final on July 13 (per Olympics.com, sports reference). According to Wikipedia’s final article, it was Chelsea’s second Club World Cup title and the first under the new format (per Wikipedia, encyclopedia).
The scoring record is less settled. RSSSF credits Chelsea’s three goals to Palmer (twice) and João Pedro (per RSSSF, football statistics archive), while Wikipedia’s summary names Tosin Adarabioyo and Tyrique George (per Wikipedia, encyclopedia).
Chelsea’s 3–0 win is easy to report, and the score holds across the sources reviewed. The scorer gap is the detail editors need to fix before quoting goals.
Where was the 2025 final played?
- Venue: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, according to Wikipedia (encyclopedia)
- FIFA’s schedule lists the final on Sunday, 13 July, with kickoff at 15:00 local time (per FIFA, official match schedule)
- MetLife also hosted both semi-finals and one quarter-final (per FIFA Inside, official media release)
The catch: the score is consistent across the sources reviewed, but the scorers are not, so check any scorer list against an official match report before publishing it.
Where and when was the Club World Cup 2025 played?
The tournament ran from June 14 to July 13, 2025, and FIFA’s schedule lists 63 matches (per FIFA, official match schedule). The opener was a stand-alone fixture: Inter Miami CF hosted Al Ahly FC at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on June 14 at 20:00 local time (per FIFA Inside, official media release).
The 32 teams were split into eight groups of four, and the top two in each group advanced to the round of 16 with no third-place playoff (per FIFA, official match schedule). Group A paired Palmeiras, FC Porto, Al Ahly and Inter Miami, while Group D paired Flamengo, Espérance de Tunis, Chelsea and Los Angeles FC after León’s removal (per BBC Sport, news publisher).
Which stadiums hosted matches?
- Twelve venues in 11 host cities, according to Wikipedia (encyclopedia)
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
- Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
- TQL Stadium, Cincinnati
- MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
- Rose Bowl, Los Angeles (Pasadena)
- Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
- GEODIS Park, Nashville
- Camping World Stadium, Orlando
- Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando
- Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
- Lumen Field, Seattle
- Audi Field, Washington, D.C.
The venue names follow ESPN’s bracket and venue guide (per ESPN, sports broadcaster). Capacity figures are less consistent: RSSSF lists Hard Rock Stadium at 64,767, while FIFA’s release gives about 65,000 (per RSSSF, football statistics archive; per FIFA Inside, official media release).
Capacity is the weakest number in this set. The Rose Bowl figures differ by more than double, so any single capacity figure should be treated as provisional.
Why this matters: the venue list is settled enough to plan around, but capacity numbers are not, so fans comparing stadiums should not treat secondary capacity tables as final.
How do teams qualify for the Club World Cup?
The FIFA Regulations set the field at 32 teams: the host member association’s representative plus 31 clubs that qualified through their confederation’s premier club competitions (FIFA Regulations (official rulebook)).
The per-confederation split comes from Wikipedia’s qualification page, which records a FIFA Council approval on February 14, 2023 (per Wikipedia, encyclopedia). This review did not check that split against FIFA’s own text.
Which confederations sent teams?
- UEFA: 12 places, the largest share (per Wikipedia, encyclopedia)
- CONMEBOL: 6 places
- AFC: 4 places
- CAF: 4 places
- CONCACAF: 4 places
- OFC: 1 place
- Host association: 1 place
Brazil entered four clubs, Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense and Botafogo, because the Copa Libertadores produced four different winners in the qualifying period. The usual limit is two clubs per country (per RSSSF, football statistics archive).
UEFA holds the largest block of places, yet Paris Saint-Germain qualified without winning the 2025 Champions League final, a point BBC Sport (news publisher) makes in its qualification explainer.
The last place was decided by a play-in. According to Wikipedia, Los Angeles FC beat América 2–1 after extra time on May 31, 2025 at BMO Stadium, after CAS rejected appeals from León, Pachuca and Alajuelense on May 6 (per Wikipedia, encyclopedia).
The trade-off: the field grew from seven clubs a year to 32 (Bundesliga.com (league publisher)), but UEFA and CONMEBOL together hold 18 of those places, and one play-in settled the last spot.
Why is Barcelona not in the FIFA Club World Cup?
The sources retrieved for this review do not list Barcelona among the 2025 participants, and no Barcelona entry appears in the retrieved group lists or knockout results.
- BBC Sport names Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain among the UEFA qualifiers (per BBC Sport, news publisher)
- ESPN’s knockout results from the round of 16 onward contain no Barcelona match (per ESPN, sports broadcaster)
- The reason is unclear: none of the retrieved sources cites a FIFA or UEFA document that explains the absence
The catch: the absence is easy to confirm from the results and hard to explain from them, so treat any reason given without a FIFA or UEFA document as speculation.
Has Messi won a Club World Cup?
The sources retrieved for this review cover the 2025 edition and do not confirm Lionel Messi’s club-level tournament history. This article therefore does not state a Club World Cup record for him.
Has City ever won the Club World Cup?
- The retrieved material does not include a FIFA record of earlier winners.
- No retrieved FIFA or established-outlet page confirms Manchester City’s 2023 title.
- Check FIFA’s historical records before publishing any winners list.
What this means: the 2025 record is well documented, but the all-time winners list needs its own sourcing before anyone publishes it.
Timeline of the 2025 tournament
- : the FIFA Council approved the slot allocation, according to Wikipedia (encyclopedia)
- : FIFA announced 12 venues in 11 cities, according to Wikipedia (encyclopedia)
- : Los Angeles FC beat América 2–1 after extra time in the play-in (per Wikipedia, encyclopedia)
- : the tournament opens with Inter Miami CF v Al Ahly FC at Hard Rock Stadium (per FIFA Inside, official media release)
- : the round of 16 begins, with Palmeiras beating Botafogo 1–0 after extra time and Benfica losing 4–1 to Chelsea after extra time (per Olympics.com, sports reference)
- : Palmeiras 1–2 Chelsea in the quarter-finals (per ESPN, sports broadcaster)
- : Fluminense 0–2 Chelsea in the semi-finals at East Rutherford (per ESPN, sports broadcaster)
- : Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain 3–0 in the final (per Olympics.com, sports reference)
The pattern: the dates line up across FIFA, ESPN and Olympics.com, so the knockout timeline is the most reliable part of this record, while the qualifying dates rest on Wikipedia and should be read as secondary.
Confirmed facts and what’s unclear
Confirmed facts
- Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain 3–0 in the final on July 13, 2025 (per Olympics.com, sports reference)
- The tournament ran from June 14 to July 13, 2025, with 63 matches (per FIFA, official match schedule)
- The opener was Inter Miami CF v Al Ahly FC at Hard Rock Stadium (per FIFA Inside, official media release)
What’s unclear
- Final scorers: RSSSF and Wikipedia name different players (per RSSSF, football statistics archive; per Wikipedia, encyclopedia)
- Rose Bowl capacity: 89,702 by RSSSF against 42,959 by Sporting News (per Sporting News, sports news outlet)
- Prize money reportedly reached up to $125 million for the winner (per TopEndSports, sports guide)
- Chelsea’s group-stage record: Wikipedia lists wins over LAFC and Espérance and a loss to Flamengo, but the full group table was not verified (per Wikipedia, encyclopedia)
The implication: until the scorer and capacity conflicts are resolved, the confirmed list is the only part of this record that can be quoted without a caveat.
What the sources say
“The Club World Cup will have no third-place play-off.”
BBC Sport (news publisher)
“Played under a new format, the month-long tournament will now take place once every four years rather than annually.”
BBC Sport (news publisher)
“Chelsea won 3–0, with goals from Tosin Adarabioyo and Tyrique George, alongside new signing Liam Delap’s debut goal.”
Wikipedia (encyclopedia summary)
What this means: the format change is settled, the final score is settled, and the scorers are not, so editors should quote the match report rather than a summary.
What the format means for next time
The next stake is access. UEFA and CONMEBOL hold 18 of the 32 places (according to Wikipedia, encyclopedia), and the FIFA Regulations make confederation competitions the entry route (per FIFA Regulations, official rulebook), so clubs outside those blocs must earn a place through their confederation’s premier club competition before they can enter at all. For fans planning to attend, the choice is clear: check each fixture on FIFA’s match page before travelling, or plan around capacity figures that the sources themselves dispute.
Related reading: 2025 World Series: Dodgers Beat Blue Jays in Game 7
Frequently asked questions
How many teams played in the Club World Cup 2025?
The field had 32 teams: the host association’s representative plus 31 clubs that qualified through confederation competitions (per FIFA Regulations, official rulebook).
Where can official fixtures and standings be found?
FIFA’s match schedule page lists fixtures, results and groups for all 63 matches (per FIFA, official match schedule).
Were tickets sold for Club World Cup 2025 matches?
The sources retrieved for this review do not include ticket sales or attendance totals, so no figure is given here. Check FIFA’s tournament pages for current ticket information.
Is the 2025 trophy Chelsea’s first Club World Cup title?
No. Wikipedia’s final article describes it as Chelsea’s second Club World Cup title and the first under the new format (per Wikipedia, encyclopedia summary).
Which team finished runner-up in the 2025 final?
Paris Saint-Germain, which lost the final 3–0 (per Olympics.com, sports reference).
How many matches were played in the 2025 tournament?
FIFA’s official schedule lists 63 matches (per FIFA, official match schedule).
The practical rule: take fixture times from FIFA’s schedule and scorers from a match report, not from summary tables.
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