City Prepare for FIFA CWC 2025™ Draw in Miami

Words: ACFC Media

Thursday 5 December 2024

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AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Excitement is building as FIFA has confirmed the procedures for the highly anticipated FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ draw, set to take place in Miami, USA, on Friday, December 6, 2024, at 7.00am NZT.

Thirty-two of the world's top clubs will be allocated into four pots of eight teams each, ensuring competitive balance and geographical diversity throughout the group stage and, depending on sporting results, into the knockout stage. The qualified clubs for the first-ever 32-team FIFA Club World Cup™ have been assigned to pots based on their respective confederation rankings.

Pot Allocations
Pot 1:
Manchester City (ENG)
Real Madrid C. F. (ESP)
FC Bayern München (GER)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
CR Flamengo (BRA)
SE Palmeiras (BRA)
CA River Plate (ARG)
Fluminense FC (BRA)
Pot 2:
Chelsea FC (ENG)
Borussia Dortmund (GER)
FC Internazionale Milano (ITA)
FC Porto (POR)
Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
SL Benfica (POR)
Juventus FC (ITA)
FC Salzburg (AUT)
Pot 3:
Al Hilal (KSA)
Ulsan HD (KOR)
Al Ahly FC (EGY)
Wydad AC (MAR)
CF Monterrey (MEX)
Club León (MEX)
CA Boca Juniors (ARG)
Botafogo (BRA)
Pot 4:
Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN)
Al Ain FC (UAE)
Espérance Sportive de Tunisie (TUN)
Mamelodi Sundowns FC (RSA)
CF Pachuca (MEX)
Seattle Sounders FC (USA)
Auckland City FC (NZL)
Inter Miami CF (USA)

Draw Constraints

Several constraints will be in place during the draw, including the general principle that no group can feature more than one team from the same confederation, except for UEFA (Europe), which will have 12 clubs represented at the tournament. Consequently, four of the eight groups will include two European clubs.

A paired seeding principle based on confederation rankings will be applied to the teams in pot 1 when assigning their respective groups. Additional constraints ensure clubs from the same member association are not grouped together, and all clubs from pot 1 will occupy the first position in their groups.

For scheduling purposes, both USA-based clubs – Inter Miami CF and Seattle Sounders FC – will be automatically allocated to fourth positions in groups A and B, respectively. Inter Miami CF will play in the opening match of the tournament at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, while the Sounders will begin their campaign at Lumen Field, Seattle.

The full match schedule, including stadiums and kick-off times, will be finalized and published after the draw, considering sporting and player-centric criteria, local and traveling fans, and global broadcast considerations.

For detailed information regarding the FIFA Club World Cup and to register for ticket and hospitality information, please visit FIFA.com.

Ends