Club World Cup 2025: A reality check for FIFA ahead of 2026 World Cup

A fresh model, more exciting clashes involving big teams, and a chance for small teams to shine — these were some of the primary agendas behind FIFA president Gianni Infantino launching a rebranded version of the Club World Cup (CWC).

Originally an annual affair, featuring the winners of just continental competitions, the rebranded version boasts a 32-team tournament, to be held once every four years.

However, the tournament started drawing criticism from bodies like FIFPRO and the World Leagues Forum due to the impact it is expected to have on fixture congestion and player welfare.

Global players’ union FIFPRO, in collaboration with 70 medical and performance experts, released a study on June 12 (three days before the start of the CWC), which states that professional footballers should be allowed at least a four-week off-season break, plus a minimum four-week retraining period before returning to competition. It also recommends mandatory mid-season breaks and mandatory consideration of the travel burden on players.

To put this into context, let us take the example of Manchester City and Chelsea, the two teams that represented the Premier League in the CWC. While City got knocked out in the Round of 16, Chelsea, which reached the final and eventually won the title, will have a gap of only five weeks before their domestic season starts on August 15. Also, Chelsea’s first game of the CWC took place on June 16, just 19 days after its UEFA Conference League final win over Real Betis.

Humans, not machines

The physical ability of sportspeople is often taken for granted, and footballers are not exempt from this. One of the major criticisms FIFA has faced for rebranding the CWC is the neglect of player welfare, with the global football body seemingly oblivious to the physical and mental stress a player endures throughout the season.

If we take Europe’s top-five leagues into consideration, Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A teams play 38 games while Bundesliga and Ligue 1 teams play 34 matches. This increases for some teams depending on how far they reach in European and domestic competitions.

Adding a 63-match tournament after that, albeit once every four years, is a stark indication of how players have become secondary in the modern game, which is now driven by business models and revenue.

Outside Europe, the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top flight in Brazilian football, has a 38-match league. Unlike European leagues, teams competing here have their season running parallel to the CWC, meaning players of Botafogo, Palmeiras, Flamengo and Fluminense (who played the most CWC matches, having reached the semifinal) had to shoulder a significant extra workload on top of the strains of league football and domestic competitions.

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said this when asked about his views on the rebrand: “It’s all about the game and not the surrounding events. That’s why the CWC is the worst idea ever implemented in football in this regard. People who have never had or do not have anything to do with day-to-day business anymore are coming up with something. There is insane money for participating, but it’s also not for every club. Last year it was the Copa America and the European Championship, this year it’s the CWC, and next year the World Cup. That means no real recovery for the players involved, neither physically nor mentally.”

Last September, Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who had a longer season after his title-winning EURO 2024 campaign with Spain, said players were close to going on strike because of the increase in games. Just a week later, he suffered a torn ACL in a 2-2 draw against Arsenal and was initially supposed to miss the rest of the season. However, due to a good recovery, he could return to the pitch eight months later.

A month after Rodri’s injury, FIFPRO filed a legal complaint with the European Commission, citing FIFA’s “abuse of dominance,” specifically related to the CWC, even though the issue is not just limited to the tournament. Many players who have not had a proper post-season break since last season (those who competed in EURO 2024) will not get one even next year, as they will have to prepare for the FIFA World Cup immediately after their club season ends.

As FIFA continues to increase competitions, an alarming pattern is emerging in which players are seeing their post-season breaks being eaten into. And this cycle will continue, with 2027 being the only year this decade not to feature a tournament after the regular club season. 2028 will see the EURO and Copa America, 2029 will have the next edition of the CWC, and 2030 will feature the centenary FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain (with a match each in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay).

Manchester City’s Rodri suffered a torn ACL in a 2-2 draw against Arsenal and was initially supposed to miss the rest of the season. However, due to a good recovery, he could return to the pitch eight months later.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

Impact on the 2025–26 season

The teams that played in the CWC are concerned about the after-effects of this elongated 2024–25 season. Players have less time to recover from the physical and mental strain of a long season, including muscle fatigue and oxidative stress. This, in turn, can put them at risk of injuries next season. Clubs will now have to brainstorm how much time off they can give players, because there is also the factor of getting a few pre-season matches under the belt to gain match fitness before the new season starts. While those clubs with a deep run in the CWC should ideally allow more time off for their players, imbalances are bound to creep in that may negatively impact players. Also, more matches mean a greater risk of players getting injured, whether due to fatigue or an in-game incident. Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala recently became a victim of the latter after suffering a horror injury during a quarterfinal clash with Paris Saint-Germain.

In the 46th minute, an on-field collision with PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma resulted in Musiala suffering a fractured fibula. “I know there are many things in life much more important than this, but for these guys, it’s their life. Someone like Jamal lives for this. He just came back from a setback, and then it happens in the way it happens. You feel powerless,” said Bayern manager Vincent Kompany. 

While it is expected that Musiala will take at least four to five months to recover from the injury, it is unlikely that the midfielder will return to his best next season.

While it is yet to be seen how the 2025–26 season pans out for the CWC participants, it is a known fact that delayed injuries will occur due to the added stress of the tournament. But it will remain a grey area because the true extent is difficult to quantify.

Let’s take PSG and Real Madrid as examples — the two teams playing one of the most high-profile clashes in the CWC, which the former won 4–1 to reach the final.

PSG has played 65 matches this season. In its squad, the top three outfield players who have played the most minutes so far are Achraf Hakimi (4668), William Pacho (4545), and Vitinha (4521). They now have less than a month to get match-fit again for the UEFA Super Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur. The 2025–26 Ligue 1 season starts just three days later.

Real Madrid has played 68 matches this season. In its squad, the top three outfield players with the most minutes are Federico Valverde (5556), Aurelien Tchouameni (4866), and Jude Bellingham (4794). Los Blancos finished their 2024–25 season on July 9 and will have 42 days (12 days more than PSG) before their regular La Liga 2025–26 season begins on August 20.

Jamal Musiala suffered a horrific injury against PSG.
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS

A potential deterrent

The CWC has also seen extreme weather conditions that have led to games being suspended for prolonged periods. Be it extreme heat or thunderstorm alerts, the natural flow of matches has taken a hit multiple times. 

And this wasn’t something that was suddenly sprung on the organisers, because pre-tournament forecasts had already predicted such conditions.

The first match disrupted due to extreme weather was the Ulsan HD vs Mamelodi Sundowns clash on June 17 in Orlando, Florida, which was delayed for more than an hour due to the threat of lightning. On the same day, in Nashville, Tennessee, the Boca Juniors and Auckland City game saw a 50-minute pause due to FIFA’s lightning storm protocol being activated.

On June 18, the Pachuca vs Red Bull Salzburg match in Cincinnati, Ohio, suffered a one-hour and 37-minute delay due to heavy rainfall and lightning. The next day in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Palmeiras and Al Ahly’s match was suspended for 46 minutes due to lightning strikes, with a cooling break also needed midway through the first half as temperatures soared to 88°F (31.1°C).

On June 20, the longest delay of the tournament till then took place in Orlando, between Benfica and Auckland City, as play was suspended for two hours due to a lightning storm in the area. Benfica was the victim of another halt due to weather, with its clash against Chelsea taking four hours and 40 minutes to complete, following a one-hour and 53-minute delay just five minutes before full time. 

While there have been numerous discussions on these climate-change-driven weather incidents, scorching temperatures have also been a major point of discomfort for the players in the CWC. Also, the organisers scheduling afternoon kick-offs to help TV audiences in Europe and Africa watch matches at convenient times have also been met with criticism. 

From a footballing perspective, the primary question being raised is how organisers plan to tackle this issue during the FIFA World Cup next year, where the USA is one of the three host countries. Scheduled to take place around the same time (June 11-July 19), similar halts will put a damper on football’s biggest festival. The extreme temperatures also prompted FIFA to slash ticket prices for a number of matches, and if the same trend continues for the World Cup next year, it may lead to more logistical nightmares for organisers, who may have to brace for major economic ramifications. 

Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez spoke about the sweltering temperatures, saying it is “impossible” to have a normal training session because of the heat.

“Honestly, the heat is incredible. The other day, I had to lie down on the ground because I was really dizzy. Playing in this temperature is very dangerous, it’s very dangerous. The speed of the game is not the same, everything becomes very slow.”

Fernandez, a likely member of Argentina’s World Cup 2026 squad, added, “Well, let’s hope that next year they change the schedule, at least so that it remains a beautiful and attractive football spectacle, right?”

PSG manager Luis Enrique did not mince words when criticising the pitch after his side’s 2–0 win against Seattle Sounders, saying FIFA needs to “bear in mind” the quality of both match and training pitches. 
| Photo Credit:
AFP

Pitch imperfect

The USA is steadily making progress in integrating football [or soccer, as it is known there] into one of its mainstream sports. However, it is not quite there yet, and a big indication of that is the poor pitch conditions, which have drawn complaints from players and managers — something almost unheard of in countries with rich footballing cultures like Spain or England. 

A major reason for this is that several grounds use artificial turf instead of natural grass, which increases injury risk for players and disrupts the natural movement of the football.

PSG manager Luis Enrique did not mince words when criticising the pitch after his side’s 2–0 win against Seattle Sounders, saying FIFA needs to “bear in mind” the quality of both match and training pitches. “I wouldn’t imagine an NBA court full of holes. What I really care about is the state of the field of play. The ball bounces almost like it was jumping around like a rabbit,” said the Spaniard. Bellingham also called out the poor quality of pitches after Real Madrid’s 3–1 win against Pachuca. “The pitches aren’t great at all. It holds up the ball, and the ball barely bounces. It’s tough on the knees as well. Hopefully, there’s someone who will look at that going into the World Cup next year.”

The initial reception from FIFA has been slightly positive, perhaps because it has publicly acknowledged that there is a problem. Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who is FIFA’s Global Football Development chief, admitted: “I’ve been personally on the pitch at Orlando. It’s not at the level that European clubs are used to because it’s not perfect, but that will be rectified for the World Cup next year.”

The USA has already hosted a World Cup in 1994, but a lot has changed since then. Modern football demands precision, the highest standards and top-notch facilities. The FIFA World Cup is football’s biggest tournament, and organisers should give it the respect it deserves. It looks like the CWC has given a crucial reality check. 

The USA has fewer than 365 days to get ready. Time is short, and the clock is ticking fast.