FIFA invites Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami to participate in Club World Cup
Major League Soccer side Inter Miami has been confirmed as the latest team to join the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
The expanded 32-team tournament will take place in the United States from June 15 to July 3, 2025.
The competition will feature 12 teams from Europe, six from South America, and 12 from Asia, Africa, and North America. Additionally, one club from Oceania and one from the host nation, the U.S., will fill the final two spots.
Inter Miami, co-owned by David Beckham, secured their place after winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield, awarded to the team with the best regular season record in MLS.
The announcement followed Lionel Messi’s hat-trick, which helped Inter Miami set a new MLS regular-season points record.
“You have shown that in the United States, you are consistently the best club on the field of play,” Fifa president Gianni Infantino said.
“Therefore, I am proud to announce that as one of the best clubs in the world, you are deserved participants in the new Fifa Club World Cup 2025.”
Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Luis Suarez could potentially face Chelsea and Manchester City, who have already secured their spots in the tournament.
Other European representatives include Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, Porto, and Benfica.
The final spot in the tournament will go to the winner of the 2024 Copa Libertadores.
Matches will take place across eight venues in the U.S., including Inter Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, with the final set for MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
FIFA’s decision to expand the competition has faced criticism from clubs and players, especially after UEFA expanded the Champions League and Europa League group stages to include additional matches.
In July, global players’ union Fifpro and the European Leagues body, representing 39 leagues and 1,130 clubs across 33 countries, filed a joint complaint with the European Commission, accusing FIFA of “abuse of dominance” in football.
The last edition of the tournament in 2023 featured seven teams from six confederations, with Manchester City emerging as champions.
The full Club World Cup draw will take place in December.