The countdown to what FIFA is calling “the most inclusive competition in the history of club football” is officially on with the unveiling of the logo for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
The logo was unveiled on FIFA’s website and social media channels on Wednesday, September 4. The tournament will take place in the United States next summer.
The logo “takes inspiration from the ball, football history and culture,” FIFA says on their website. The initials of the tournament, “CWC,” are “abstracted into a circular icon,” leaving space in the center to showcase tournament elements. This includes the crests of the qualified teams, many of whom posted their own videos to social media on Wednesday.
The primary icon is gold with a bevel texture on a black background, but can be adapted into flat and single-color versions for different backgrounds an applications. It will also be adapted and used for future editions of the tournament.
Along with the logo, FIFA also announced that the song “Freed From Desire” by Italian singer-songwriter Gala will be the tournament’s audio signature. The track, released in 1996, “holds an iconic status in football culture,” FIFA says. “Given its resonance with fans globally, integrating this classic track validates the historical significance of football and clubs whilst marking a new chapter in the sport’s evolution.”
“What a special moment. Today, we launched the brand of the new FIFA Club World Cup – the start of a new era in club football. Thirty-two of the best clubs from all corners of the world will be competing in the United States in June and July 2025. They are at the heart of the tournament. And we cannot wait. Thirty-two of the best clubs globally will meet on the world stage and only one will be crowned world champions.”
— FIFA President Gianni Infantino
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will bring together 32 teams from the six continental confederations around the globe. The winners of each confederation’s top club competition (e.g., UEFA Champions League) from 2021 to 2024 automatically qualify, while other clubs can qualify through a club ranking over the four-year period.
As of Thursday, September 5, 30 of the 32 slots in the tournament had been filled. One of the final two qualifiers will be a team from the host confederation, CONCACAF, which will be determined at a later date. The other will be determined when the final of the 2024 Copa Libertadores, South America’s top club competition, is played on November 30, 2024.
The 32 teams will be split into eight groups of four, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the knockout rounds. Games are expected to be played mainly on the east coast of the United States to better align with European audiences while also avoiding conflicts with CONCACAF Gold Cup matches, which will be played around the same time but on the west coast.
Since 2005, the FIFA Club World Cup had been held every December, with only the winners of the previous year’s top club competitions taking part. With the new format and schedule, it will now only take place every four years, in the year before a men’s World Cup.
The expanded format and schedule were approved by FIFA in March 2019. China was scheduled to host the tournament in 2021, but that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
