Chelsea (right) need to maintain extremely high performance to be able to win a ticket to the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup - Photo: REUTERS
This awkward situation comes from FIFA's existing regulations, according to which the champion of the tournament will not automatically be allowed to participate in the next tournament. Chelsea still participates in the race for tickets like other teams.
This is not surprising, because the World Cup has long applied this rule. What is worth mentioning is that runner-up PSG is sure to get a ticket. Why?
Because under the current format, all continental champions in the four-year cycle immediately preceding the tournament year will be eligible to participate. For UEFA, it is the Champions League winners in the period 2025 - 2028.
Thus, PSG has become one of the first teams to win a ticket to the FIFA Club World Cup 4 years later thanks to winning the Champions League this season.
In addition to the French representative, Cruz Azul (Mexico), Al Ahly (Saudi Arabia) and Pyramids are the other three teams that have secured early tickets to the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup, thanks to their continental championships this season.
FIFA has shared its intention to expand the FIFA Club World Cup to 48 teams for the 2029 edition. But this plan has been strongly opposed, and FIFA has so far made no further announcement.
Even if the tournament is expanded, the practice of awarding places to continental champions over a four-year cycle will certainly remain the same. Oceania (OFC) is the only exception as they only have one place, with the team with the best record over the four years being selected.
If FIFA does not expand the tournament, Chelsea will have to participate in an extremely fierce race for tickets.
Under the current format, Europe has just 12 spots, and four have been awarded to the Champions League winners in the 2025-2028 cycle.
The remaining 8 places are reserved for the 8 teams with the best performance in Europe during this period (after eliminating the Champions League winners).
So, if they can't win the Champions League, Chelsea must enter the top 8 in Europe.
And not only that, FIFA also imposes a strict rule that each country cannot have more than 2 teams participating in the tournament - unless they are the continental champions.
Because of this rule, Liverpool, ranked 8th in the continent in the 2021-2024 rankings, still did not get a ticket, because Man City and Chelsea were already guaranteed to be there. The same goes for Barca, the team ranked behind Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in Spain.
Therefore, these two giants had to give up their tickets to weaker teams such as Porto, Salzburg...
Either win the Champions League, or have to overcome Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal..., that is the race that Chelsea must face in the next three seasons to have a chance to defend its championship.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/psg-da-co-ve-du-fifa-club-world-cup-2029-chelsea-lai-chua-20250714170431355.htm
Comment (0)