CLUB WORLD CUP
World Cup winners heading to FIFA Club World Cup 2025
The biggest stars from across the planet football will meet in the USA this June, as the newly formatted FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ gets underway. With 22 FIFA World Cup™ winners set to compete at the event, we look through those aiming to
Group A
Inter Miami, who qualified via the sole host nation slot, will bring two world champions to the finals. Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi enjoyed a historic campaign at Qatar 2022, taking home the adidas Golden Ball as La Albiceleste lifted the trophy for the first time in 36 years. He will be joined by Sergio Busquets, who helped Spain to their maiden title at South Africa 2010.
Group B
A trio of PSG stars helped France to lift the World Cup at Russia 2018. Lucas Hernandez played in every game at the tournament, while Ousmane Dembele featured four times, with the pair also part of the squad which reached the final at Qatar 2022. Presnel Kimpembe made his sole global finals appearance in Russia in a group-stage draw with Denmark.
No team heading to the tournament can boast a higher number of world champions than Atletico Madrid. Antoine Griezmann and Thomas Lemar were both part of the victorious France team of 2018, with Griezmann scoring in the final win over Croatia en route to the adidas Silver Ball and adidas Bronze Boot. Julian Alvarez, Angel Correa, Rodrigo De Paul and Nahuel Molina all played their part in Argentina’s win in Qatar to take Los Rojiblancos’ total of World Cup winners to an unsurpassed six.
Group C
The Germany squad which took home the first world title since the nation’s reunification at Brazil 2014 contained seven Bayern players. Two remain with the Bavarian giants, in the shape of Thomas Muller and captain Manuel Neuer.
Portuguese giants Benfica will be led at the Club World Cup by two Argentina icons. Angel Di Maria, who retired from international duty with 145 caps after winning last year’s Copa America, netted the second goal in the nation’s final victory over France in 2022. Centre-back Nicolas Otamendi, meanwhile, played every minute in Qatar and is still adding to his 123 caps.
Group D
Argentinian Enzo Fernandez is enjoying his best season at Chelsea since his then-British-record £106.8m transfer to the Blues from Benfica. That move came following his standout performances at Qatar 2022, which saw him win the FIFA Young Player Award.
Group E
Three members of the reigning world champions’ squad are currently playing their football in their homeland for River. Backup goalkeeper Franco Armani has been with the South American giants since 2018, and has since been joined by full-backs Marcos Acuna and German Pezzella.
At Russia 2018, defender Benjamin Pavard etched his name into the hearts of World Cup watchers across the globe when he scored the Goal of the Tournament in a 4-3 win over Argentina, en route to France’s success. Four years later, Lautaro Martinez helped La Albiceleste claim revenge over their European counterparts in the Qatar decider.
Group H
Les Bleus captain Kylian Mbappe burst on to the international scene in 2017. Just over 12 months later, he was a world champion and the first teenager to score in the final since Pele. At Qatar 2022, he made further showpiece history, becoming just the second player, and the first for 56 years, to net a World Cup final hat-trick.
CLUB WORLD CUP
Referees’ body cameras will provide fans with unprecedented views of on-field action, says FIFA
FIFA unveiled its team of 117 match officials, opens new tab on Monday for the inaugural Club World Cup and said referees would wear body cameras and enforce stricter goalkeeper time-wasting rules at the tournament to be staged across the United States.
The FIFA Referees Committee appointed the officials from 41 member associations – 35 referees, 58 assistant referees and 24 video match officials – for the June 14 to July 13 event.
Body cameras will provide fans with unprecedented views of on-field action, FIFA said, while goalkeepers who hold the ball beyond eight seconds will now see opponents awarded corner kicks rather than indirect free kicks.
“We think that it is a good chance to offer the viewers a new experience, in terms of images taken from a perspective, from an angle of vision, which was never offered before,” said Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee.
“It also has a purpose in terms of referee coaching because, of course, having the possibility to see what the referee sees is important in the debriefing.”
Collina highlighted the historic nature of the appointments for the expanded tournament featuring 32 teams from all six FIFA confederations and spanning 12 stadiums in 11 U.S. host cities.
“The selected referees are among those who have the privilege to be part of this for the first time, so I’m sure that all the match officials will be thrilled,” he said.
“We are coming from high-standard performances delivered during the last FIFA tournaments. So the bar is higher and when you set the bar higher it’s more difficult to keep the standard. But we are working very hard and ‘Team One’ will make a solid contribution to the success of this exciting competition.”
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
The expanded Club World Cup holding in the US has brought another innovation to football.
Referees at the championship holding from June 14 to July 13 will be equipped with body cameras and will implement a new rule to combat goalkeeper time-wasting.
Game directors will wear “body cameras as part of an experimental phase, the tests having been approved by IFAB ,” the body that oversees the rules of the game, the International Football Federation explained in a statement.
“We believe this is a good opportunity to offer viewers a new experience, with images taken from a perspective that has never been offered before,” explained FIFA Referees Committee chairman Pierluigi Collina.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
The change in football rules that allows goalkeepers to be punished with corner kicks will be implemented at the Club World Cup holding in June in the US.
The revelation was made by FIFA Referees Committee chairman Pierluigi Collina after the announcement that referees will wear body cameras.
This initiative is “both innovative for broadcasters and for referee training,” added the Italian, “because it is important to be able to put yourself in the referee’s shoes during the debriefing, to evaluate how the referee made his decisions, his point of view, etc. “
The competition will implement the new rule approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) on March 1, aimed at reducing time wastage by goalkeepers.
“If they hold the ball for more than eight seconds, the referee will award a corner. Previously, an indirect free kick could be awarded after six seconds.
Seminars for referees have been held recently. The one for UEFA referees was held at FIFA headquarters from March 31 to April 4. Another seminar was held in Dubai for referees from the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), and OFC (Oceania) from February 2 to 4, and a third for referees from CONMEBOL (South America) and CONCACAF (Central America and the Caribbean) took place in Buenos Aires from February 24 to 28.
“We need to see the game and the goals, not the refereeing,” said refereeing director Massimo Busacca. “The referee is the protagonist who should not be noticed during the match. A good referee doesn’t need to be seen or known. But he must be prepared. “
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- WOMEN'S FOOTBALL1 week ago
Naira rain falls on Nigeria’s Flamingos after a 4-0 defeat of Algeria
- OBITUARY5 days ago
NFF mourns the demise of former FIFA referee, Bosede Momoh
- Nigerian Football3 days ago
Financial rainfall awaits Nigeria’s Flamingos for every goal scored in Algeria
- U-17 AFCON1 week ago
Morocco crowned CAF U-17 AFCON champions after dramatic penalty shootout win over Mali
- U-20 FOOTBALL1 week ago
Nigeria begin CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations title chase with Tunisian clash
- Nigerian Football7 days ago
Remo Stars maintain ‘7Up’ lead over Rivers United
- feature5 days ago
Ghana’s Cardinal, Appiah Turkson, listed as a possible Pope
- Nigerian Football3 days ago
Former WAFU President, Ogufere mourns Christian Chukwu