Fifa has agreed to create a joint venture with the lobby group European Football Clubs (EFC) to operate the Club World Cup, a move that is likely to result in more Premier League clubs entering the lucrative competition. The decision is expected to accelerate plans to expand the tournament from 32 to 48 clubs when it next takes place in 2029.
Financial Incentives Drive Expansion
Chelsea earned approximately £84 million from winning the inaugural 32-team tournament in 2025, according to sources. This substantial prize money has prompted other big European clubs to lobby Fifa for expansion to increase their chances of qualification. The EFC's involvement is seen as a key step toward that goal.
In the 2025 edition, Europe was represented by 12 clubs, with six from South America and five from the Concacaf North American confederation. However, some of the world's biggest clubs were absent, including Liverpool, Barcelona, and Napoli—the then champions of England, Spain, and Italy respectively. Qualification was restricted to the four previous winners of the Champions League and eight clubs with the highest Uefa coefficient, with a cap of two clubs per country.
Cap on Clubs Per Country Under Scrutiny
The EFC is understood to want the two-club-per-country cap lifted. This would have significant implications for English clubs, as Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City all rank in Uefa's coefficient top eight. Lifting the cap could allow more of these teams to participate.
The EFC is likely to argue that increasing the number of European clubs would boost the Club World Cup's commercial value. Fifa struggled to sell TV rights for the 2025 tournament, eventually agreeing a $1 billion (£0.76 billion) global deal with Dazn after the streaming company received an equivalent investment from the Saudi Arabian-government backed Surj Sports Investments.
Joint Venture Model Mirrors Uefa Partnership
The EFC already has a joint venture with Uefa that runs European club competitions, UC3. Its arrangement with Fifa is expected to operate on similar lines. Tensions existed between the organisations before the first expanded Club World Cup in the US, which Fifa insisted on running itself, but relations have since improved.
The EFC, chaired by Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi, represents more than 700 European clubs, including all of the biggest ones after Real Madrid returned to the fold this year. Real Madrid had been suspended from the EFC for five years due to their agitation to create a European Super League, but after formally withdrawing from that project in February 2024, the Spanish club was readmitted.
Fifa is understood to have been impressed with the EFC's commercial work on behalf of Uefa, whose media and sponsorship revenues for the Champions League and other club competitions have increased by about 25% over the next four-year cycle from 2027.
Solidarity Payments Still Outstanding
The EFC's current focus is agreeing a redistribution formula for the £185 million owed to clubs across the world in solidarity payments from the 2025 tournament. As reported by The Guardian in February, this sum has yet to be paid. Clubs that did not participate were promised a share of the amount, which if shared equally would be about £50,000 for every top-flight club globally. However, 12 months later, these clubs are growing frustrated by the delay.
The £740 million prize money has been paid, but the six confederations have yet to agree on how the £185 million solidarity fees should be distributed. Once that is resolved, attention is expected to turn to discussions over the next Club World Cup in 2029 and its possible expansion to 48 teams.
