FIFA have not let anything get in the way of their Club World Cup, to be hosted for the first time next year in a new format involving 32 teams. The month-long tournament will take place between the 14th of June and the 14th of July, between seasons.
With promises of big payouts for the 12 European clubs involved, FIFA will host a draw on Thursday evening to decide the groups. The format will be the same as the World Cup, with eight groups of four, and knockout stages involving 16 teams. According to Marca, it will also see FIFA open a new transfer window.
🚨🇪🇸 BREAKING: Robin Le Normand enters Atlético Madrid’s squad list for the first time in around 2 months. pic.twitter.com/szTvzjK0WL
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) December 4, 2024
Football’s governing body will allow teams to make transfers between the 1st of June and the 10th of June, to incentivise clubs to strengthen for the competition, and also give them legal coverage. A third transfer window would allow players to move before the tournament, as a side effect of the tournament will be allowing clubs to extend contracts of their players unilaterally until the end of the tournament. Players will not be allowed to play for two different teams during the Club World Cup.
Most contracts end on the 30th of June in Europe, while the summer transfer window opens on the 1st of July, but the new rule would allow players to play for three different teams in the same season. The competition has received significant backlash, following complaints about stretching elite players too far. Real Madrid alone could play up to 71 games this season, and international stars will obviously go well beyond that figure.
