The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is set to create serious player welfare and scheduling problems for Premier League sides Manchester City and Chelsea, who won the Club World Cup in 2024 and 2022 respectively.
Next year will be the first year of the tournament’s newly expanded 32-team format, and it will run from 15 June to 13 July in the United States, with clubs such as Inter Milan, PSG, Bayern Munich and Inter Miami also taking part.
But the summer tournament is causing major clubs to worry about player fitness and welfare issues.
Teams will be foreced to play their strongest side
Reports on the Club World Cup regulations have suggested there is a condition that suggests clubs must field their strongest side throughout the tournament.
This commitment comes despite teams also having to release players for international duties just before the tournament kicks off, adding further matches to an already packed schedule.
European leagues and player unions have reportedly filed a legal complaint against FIFA, accusing the governing body of abusing its authority by scheduling the tournament without conferring with those involved.
This news comes after Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, had a request denied earlier in the season for his side’s early-season fixtures to be delayed so that his squad could recover properly from the Club World Cup.
Similarly, Chelsea made the call to leave Cole Palmer – who ranked at no.18 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best players in the world right now – out of their Europa Conference League squad for the early rounds of the tournament in order to help manage his workload.
The continuous cycle of games would mean Chelsea and Manchester City players would not receive the suggested three weeks rest before returning to pre-season camps ahead of the 2025-26 season.
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Given Manchester City midfielder Rodri’s comments earlier in the season about the potential for players to go on strike, this news undoubtedly be met with a poor response from players, coaches and fans alike.
