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CLUB WORLD CUP

Club World Cup in Morocco: A clash of record-holders holds again after 22 years

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Seven time Club World Cup holders, Real Madrid are set to face 10-time African champions, Al Ahly of Egypt this Wednesday in the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup in Rabat.

This is potentially an epic clash. But it is not the first encounter of the two teams. Before this match-up, both had met 22 years ago in 2001 and Al Ahly were winners by an odd goal.  

It was at the ocassion of Al Ahly being proclaimed as the African ‘Club of the Century’. At the time, Real Madrid were the European champions.

But as Egypt’s Ahram puts it,  2001 was not one of the Real Madrid’s  best years. They had endured their worst domestic league performance under Vicente del Bosque’s management, finishing only third in the league standings as well as losing the Copa del Rey final at the Bernabéu to unheralded Deportivo La Coruna.

In addition,  they were narrowly knocked out by Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, their signature tournament and the reason for their enormous fame and success.

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However, they had begun a new policy of signing the world’s greatest players, one every year, under new president Florentino Perez with a goal of making Real Madrid the most fashionable club in the world. They were dubbed the Galacticos.

They had just augmented their strike force by signing French midfield star Zinedine Zidane for a then record $90 million four-year contract from Juventus on instalments. Zidane had just signed for Real, making his appearance in Cairo a pleasant surprise.

A flag-waving crowd of nearly 70,000 in Cairo Stadium saw Ahly weather an early storm as Claude Makelele went close for Real at the start of the match. Roberto Carlos let fly with one of his trademark cannon shots which goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadari did well to even see it.

Zidane whiffed at a clear opportunity in front of the goal.

Ahly came out for the second half determined to push back Real. They created several chances with Alaa Ibrahim and Khaled Bebo hitting the bar.

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The goal came 10 minutes after the break after Bebo launched a counter attacking solo run before passing to Hossam Ghali who rounded Real goalkeeper Cesar before slipping the ball to newly signed Nigerian import Ibrahim Sunday who slotted into an empty net.

Real’s two superstars Zidane and Luis Figo failed to make an impression and were both substituted in the second half.

Zidane, Figo, Carlos, Raul, Makelele, Salgado, captain Fernando Hierro and all the other dream team members went down 1-0. 

Manuel Jose of Portugal, who would go on to become Ahly’s winningest coach ever, marked his first victory with Ahly.

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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CLUB WORLD CUP

New Jersey awarded 2025 Club World Cup final

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Sep 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Fans display an American flag on the field before the game between the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images/File Photo

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final will be held at the New Jersey home of the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets, world soccer’s governing body announced on Saturday along with the venue lineup for the revamped tournament.

The expanded 32-team tournament, which will feature leading clubs from around the world, will be held in 12 stadiums around the United States next year from June 15-July 13.

The open-air stadium for the final, which opened in 2010 and has a capacity of 82,500, held the Copa America Centenario final in 2016 when Chile denied Lionel Messi’s Argentina for a second time in a penalty shootout.

The venue was also announced earlier this year as the site of the 2026 World Cup final.

The other venues, mostly a mix of NFL and Major League Soccer stadiums, are in Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington and two in Orlando.

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The Club World Cup will have eight groups of four with the top two teams from each group advancing to the single-match knockout stage from the round of 16 to the final.

FIFPRO’s European member unions have started legal action against FIFA over the Club World Cup due to concerns over the impact of a crammed calendar on players’ health and performance.

-Reuters

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FIFA names 12 stadiums set to stage historic FIFA Club World Cup 2025

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 28: Gianni Infantino and Hugh Jackman speak onstage during the Global Citizen Festival 2024 in Central Park on September 28, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Global Citizen) Copyright 2024 Getty Images

Twelve stadiums have been announced as venues for the expanded Club World Cup holding in the United States next year. There will be 32 clubs in attendance – a far departure from the regular  eight.

The tournament kicks off on Sunday, 15 June 2025, with all roads leading to the MetLife Stadium in New York.

The final match will be in New Jersey on Sunday, 13 July 2025, just over a year before the venue stages the FIFA World Cup 26 final.

This venue is joined by 11 more – Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta), Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte), TQL Stadium (Cincinnati), Rose Bowl Stadium (Los Angeles), Hard Rock Stadium (Miami), GEODIS Park (Nashville), Camping World Stadium (Orlando), Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando), Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia), Lumen Field (Seattle), and Audi Field (Washington, D.C.).

“The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will feature 12 fantastic stadiums where a new chapter in football’s global history will be written by great players from the 32 best clubs in the world,”  Infantino, the FIFA president stated.

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 “This new FIFA competition is the only true example in worldwide club football of real solidarity and inclusivity, allowing the best clubs from Africa, Asia, Central and North America and Oceania to play the powerhouses of Europe and South America in an incredible new World Cup which will impact enormously the growth of club football and talent globally.

“This is about opportunity and hope for those who need it most, and also about prestige and true football for those who make our sport shine.” 

With the draw set for December, just two of the 32 teams are yet to be confirmed: one from South America, the other representing the host country.

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CLUB WORLD CUP

SHOCKER! Real Madrid pull out of Club World Cup

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Champions League - Final - Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - June 1, 2024 Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti celebrates with the trophy after winning the Champions League REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

The expanded FIFA Club World Cup which has put the organisation of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in disarray, is beginning to crumble.

Cup holders, Real Madrid, have indicated their intention not to participate.

Earlier on, the umbrella body of professional footballers has also frowned at the fixtures congestion which the novel competition appears to have caused.

According to Reuters’ report, Real Madrid will decline FIFA’s invitation to participate in the Club World Cup as the governing body have undervalued the compensation the 15-times Champions League winners should receive, manager Carlo Ancelotti said.

FIFA’s revamped international tournament, with 32 teams, is set to take place in the United States at the end of next season, with Europe’s best-ranked 12 clubs among those invited.

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Ancelotti, one of the most successful football managers in Europe, has won the Club World Cup three times and the Champions League five times.

“FIFA can forget it, footballers and clubs will not participate in that tournament,” Ancelotti told Italian daily Il Giornale in an interview published on Monday to coincide with his 65th birthday.

“A single Real Madrid match is worth 20 million and FIFA wants to give us that amount for the whole cup. Negative. Like us, other clubs will refuse the invitation.”

Ancelotti, who led Real to a Champions League and LaLiga double last season, said there had been a lot of pressure on managers lately but he had managed to stay passionate about his job.

“I see nothing particularly new, this has always been our job but the case of (former Liverpool manager Juergen) Klopp is significant. The pressure continues, the burden of responsibility becomes too heavy, obsession takes over,” he said.

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“I keep my passion, that’s how I live the match, the game, my job; I’ve always carried this balance with me. I’ve overcome moments that weren’t always positive; after my experience with Everton I was off the radar, they thought I was finished, I was old.”

With all three European club competitions expanded to 36 teams from next season, the Club World Cup has come under scrutiny for saturating the football calendar.

In May, FIFA said they would not consider rescheduling their 32-team Club World Cup after global players’ union FIFPRO and the World Leagues Association (WLA) threatened legal action if they did not review their plans.

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