Fifa has agreed to form a joint venture with the European Football Clubs (EFC) to operate the Club World Cup, a move that is expected to lead to an expansion of the tournament and increase the number of Premier League clubs participating. Chelsea earned approximately £84 million from winning the inaugural 32-team edition last year, prompting other major European clubs to lobby for expansion to improve their qualification chances.
The EFC's involvement is likely to accelerate plans to expand the competition to 48 clubs when it next takes place in 2029. Currently, Europe is represented by 12 clubs, but some of the world's biggest teams—including Liverpool, Barcelona, and Napoli—were absent from the last tournament due to qualification restrictions. The EFC is understood to want the current cap of two clubs per country lifted, which would benefit English sides like Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City, all of whom rank in Uefa's coefficient top eight.
Increasing the number of European clubs could boost the Club World Cup's commercial value, following Fifa's struggle to sell TV rights for the tournament. A $1 billion (£0.76 billion) global TV deal was eventually agreed with Dazn, after the streaming company received equivalent investment from Saudi Arabian-government backed Surj Sports Investments. The EFC already has a similar joint venture with Uefa, called UC3, which runs European club competitions.
Relations between Fifa and the EFC have improved since tensions before the first expanded Club World Cup in the US. The EFC, chaired by Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi, represents over 700 European clubs, including Real Madrid, which is expected to rejoin later this year after withdrawing from the European Super League project. Meanwhile, the EFC's current focus is agreeing a redistribution formula for the £185 million owed to clubs worldwide in solidarity payments from last year's tournament, which has yet to be paid. The £740 million prize money has been distributed, but the six confederations have not agreed on how to allocate the solidarity fees.
