Why did China's new edition of the Club World Cup change hands and be snatched away by the "Americans"?

On June 24, FIFA officially announced today that the United States will host the 2025 Club World Cup, which will be the first edition to expand to 32 teams.

It is worth mentioning that FIFA officially announced as early as 2019 that China would host the first restructured Club World Cup, but due to a series of changes such as the epidemic, the first Club World Cup hosting rights that China firmly grasped eventually fell to the United States.

The Chinese Club World Cup bloomed but did not bear fruit

According to Xinhua News Agency and FIFA's official reports: At the 2019 FIFA Council meeting in Shanghai, China won the right to host the 2021 Club World Cup, and the tournament was expanded to 24 teams, held every four years, replacing the original Confederations Cup, while the eight cities where China hosted the Club World Cup are: Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Shenyang, Jinan, Hangzhou and Dalian.

The new crown epidemic has caused the Club World Cup in China to not be held as scheduled. In 2020, the Chinese Football Association issued an announcement that the Club World Cup to be held in Japan in 2021 is still the old version of the Club World Cup in which 7 teams participate, and the first new version of the Club World Cup with 24 teams will still be held in China. Due to the impact of the world pandemic, the first new edition of the Club World Cup has been postponed, and FIFA is actively consulting with China and other stakeholders to postpone the postponed date.

After that, FIFA still left a window for the Club World Cup in China. Infantino said that the timing of the first Club World Cup with the new format will be decided as soon as possible, and the venue will still be China, saying: "The new Club World Cup will still be hosted by China, we have not yet decided on a specific date, but it will be the best club event in the world." ”

However, during the World Cup in Qatar, the author participated in the special press conference of FIFA President Gianni in Doha. The Swiss's tone had changed: in addition to praising the World Cup as "the best in history", he also made an important announcement: the new and revamped Club World Cup will be launched in 2025 and will be played by 32 teams.

As for the venue, Infantino did not mention China. At that time, the European and American media had made it clear that the new version of the 2025 Club World Cup would bid farewell to China and be held in the United States.

The US-Canada-Mexico World Cup, complete a super reversal

In October 2019, FIFA officially announced that China had won the right to host the 2021 Club World Cup, which was originally scheduled to be held in June and July. In December 2020, FIFA officially announced that the 2021 Club World Cup was changed from China to Japan, and the time was changed to the end of the year. The Chinese Football Association said at the time that the hosting rights of the first new edition of the Club World Cup were still in China's hands.

In September 2021, the Japan Football Association officially announced that it would abandon hosting the Club World Cup. In October 2021, FIFA officially announced that the 2021 Club World Cup will be held in the UAE in early 2022. The 2021 Club World Cup was successfully played in the UAE, with Chelsea beating Palmeiras in the final to win the title.

On June 23, 2023, FIFA officially announced that the United States will host the 2025 Club World Cup, which will be the first restructured Club World Cup expanded to 32 teams. FIFA did not mention China in today's announcement, but the appointment of the United States to host the first Club World Cup means that China's plan to host the first Club World Cup will be abandoned.

In fact, China has made great efforts to host the Club World Cup. According to the original plan, the opening ceremony of the China Club World Cup will be held in Shanghai at the Shanghai Stadium. Since the Shanghai Stadium was previously a comprehensive venue, not a professional football stadium, it did not meet the regulations of FIFA and the Club World Cup.

Caption: Shanghai Stadium has been renovated in accordance with the requirements of the opening ceremony of the Club World Cup 2021.

The Shanghai Stadium has also invested in emergency renovation. Today, the Shanghai Stadium has been transformed into a professional football stadium, and the number of fans has been greatly increased by 72,000, which is fully in line with FIFA's requirements for the opening ceremony of the Club World Cup, but unfortunately this wonderful event did not reach China.

According to the requirements of FIFA, the Shanghai division would have attracted super European giants such as Liverpool and Real Madrid, and the Club World Cup teams also had strict requirements for training venues. In the original plan, Qiantan Sports Park and Houpaire Sports Park were all training venues for the Club World Cup in China, and FIFA officials also visited and gave suggestions for improvement.

Caption: In the original plan, SAIC Pudong Football Stadium may also be the venue for the Club World Cup and the Asian Cup.

Although China is ready, the impact of the epidemic is too great, especially the United States, Canada and Mexico will host the 2026 World Cup, which has tilted the right to host the first restructured Club World Cup from China to the United States. The United States, Canada and Mexico jointly host the World Cup, which itself has a world-class professional football stadium, so that the 2025 Club World Cup will play in the United States, killing two birds with one stone: it not only launches FIFA's ace new event, but also can be used as a "test match" for the 2026 World Cup.

Although China holds the Club World Cup, although it is early in the morning and late in the evening, it is more due to the unpredictable factor of the epidemic. Including the Asian Cup, which was originally held in China, it was finally abandoned due to the epidemic and is now held in Qatar in early 2024. Whether it is Qatar or the United States, they have taken over the original China Club World Cup and China's Asian Cup respectively, the fundamental reason is that they have already held and will hold the World Cup - the attention paid at the national level, the completion of infrastructure, the creation of a football atmosphere, etc., are indeed more dominant.

One insider believes that the right to host major events, like the process of football matches, is full of uncertainty, "In the world of football, everything is possible. Although the Club World Cup did not fall to China, it also embodies the greatest charm of football: full of unknowns. ”