Gianni Infantino wants to radically expand the Club World Cup and move the tournament from December to June.
The Fifa president intends the Club World Cup, which brings together the champions from each of the continental federations, to have a similar format to the Champions League, which has a 32-team group stage.
“Today football is not just about Europe and South America, the world has changed and that’s why we need to make the Club World Cup more interesting for teams, and also for fans around the world,” Infantino told the Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
“That’s what we’re trying to do, by creating a tournament that is much more attractive, with more quality among participants and more clubs. That will attract more sponsors and television companies from around the world.”
In a separate interview with Gazzettadello Sport, he said he wanted to see 32 teams in the competition.
Barcelona,
Champions League winners in 2015, are the holders of the Club World Cup, having beaten South America’s then Copa Libertadores champions River Plate in last year’s final.
Real Madrid will represent Europe in this year’s competition, which begins in December in Japan, with South America’s representatives being AtléticoNacional of Colombia.
He said the first edition of the revamped version of the tournament could take place in 2019.
Club World Cup expansion to 32 teams for 2019
