- FIFA agreed to a billion-dollar deal with DAZN to broadcast the 2025 Club World Cup
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DAZN will broadcast the 2025 Club World Cup as part of a billion-dollar (£787m) deal with Fifa, as the world governing body finally agrees a deal over the much-maligned tournament.
All 63 matches of the expanded 32-team tournament will be available to watch for free on the DAZN streaming platform.
The deal comes after FIFA failed to reach an agreement with any television broadcaster, and president Gianni Infantino attempted to generate interest at an emergency meeting in September.
Infantino called it “the most accessible club soccer tournament ever.”
Chelsea and Manchester City will represent England due to their performances in the Champions League over the past four seasons. The only team in CONCACAF, the North American division, will be Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
“It was imperative for FIFA to ensure that as many football fans around the world as possible could follow the action, and this agreement with DAZN ensures that, in terms of broadcasting, the new FIFA Club World Cup will be the most accessible club soccer tournament in history,” Infantino said in a statement.
FIFA has announced a billion-dollar (£787m) deal with DAZN to broadcast the 2025 Club World Cup.
Manchester City and Chelsea are the two English clubs that will compete in the tournament
“The new FIFA Club World Cup is an inclusive, merit-based tournament that will be the pinnacle of global club football and will capture the imagination of players and fans around the world.”
The 2025 Club World Cup will be played by 32 clubs from the six continental confederations and will be the first edition with this format to be held in the United States.
Chelsea and Manchester City will compete in the tournament after winning the Champions League in 2021 and 2023 respectively.
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG will also participate in the tournament that will take place from June 15 to July 13 next year.
Clubs from other continents that have qualified include Boca Juniors, River Plate and Al-Hilal.
Ahead of Thursday’s draw, it has been confirmed which pots the teams are in and there could be some interesting matchups on the way.
As expected, Pot 1 has the best teams in the competition: Man City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, Flamengo, Palmeiras, River Plate and Fluminense.
City are the current champions of the competition after beating Brazilian side Fluminense 4-0 in last year’s final.
The 2025 Club World Cup draw will be held on Thursday
Manchester City will seek to retain their title after winning the competition last year.
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Meanwhile, Chelsea are in Pot 2 alongside Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, FC Porto, Atlético Madrid, Benfica, Juventus and Salzburg.
The ‘bleus’ managed to qualify for the competition because they are, along with City and Madrid, one of the last three teams to win the Champions League.
While they may have struggled in the years following their European success, they appear to have finally found stability under new boss Enzo Maresca.
Meanwhile, Pot 3 and Pot 4 are made up of several teams from around the world, including Neymar’s Al-Hilal and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
FIFA is reportedly set to introduce a major rule change for the Club World Cup.
As reported by sky sportsThe clubs will have to bring their strongest squads to the tournament and present their strongest teams.