Football
Rene Tovar and Jeff Carlisle 4y

Sources: U.S., Mexico, Canada could host Club World Cup in 2025

The FIFA Club World Cup in 2025 could be hosted by the three countries of Mexico, the United States and Canada as they prepare to jointly host the World Cup in 2026, sources have told ESPN FC.

Sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN FC that there is a general understanding that Canada, Mexico and the United States would have the option to host FIFA events ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

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However, the sources said they could not confirm whether those events might be the FIFA Congress, the FIFA Youth World Cups or a Club World Cup.

The sources said no details have been decided nor has any specific event been pinned down.

Sources within the Mexico Football Federation also confirmed that the three countries could potentially host the 24-team Club World Cup in 2025, but also added that nothing had been as yet defined.

On Thursday, FIFA selected China as host of the inaugural edition of the expanded Club World Cup in 2021 but delayed a decision on how the 24 slots for the tournament will be distributed.

A proposal on how many teams would qualify from the six confederations was shared with FIFA Council members for approval at a meeting in Shanghai on Thursday, including Europe having eight participants.

But a vote on the participation model was pulled because Oceania's only way of qualification would be its Champions League winner first defeating the domestic champion of host nation China in a playoff.

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Oceania is pushing for a guaranteed place in the group stage in China in June 2021, just as FIFA's task force on the revamped Club World Cup originally proposed in March.

That is according to people with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity with The Associated Press to discuss the contents of a private meeting.

FIFA said only that the qualification process "will be finalised in a consultation process between FIFA and the six confederations.''

The revamped Club World Cup is due to be staged every four years, replacing the current annual format that features the six champions of continental competitions and the host nation's domestic title winner.

So the next event would be in 2025, potentially in the Americas. The final two editions of the annual seven-team Club World Cup are being staged in Qatar this December and in December 2020.

While South America would get six slots, only the process for distributing four of them has been settled. They will go to the 2019 and 2020 winners of CONEMBOL's two competitions: the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana.

The document shows no plan for determining the route to securing the remaining two berths or the limits on national representation.

The 2021 CONCACAF Champions League finalists would qualify for the next Club World Cup but a process for deciding the third slot was left hanging in the FIFA Council document on Thursday. Mexican teams have won all 11 titles since the regional competition was rebooted as the Champions League. Only three of the finals have not been an all-Mexican lineup.

But a cap of two teams per country from this region will exist at the Club World Cup.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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