The football show of the year is here! 32 teams + $1 billion in prizes, the New World Club Cup is benchmarked against the World Cup

This summer without the World Cup, European Championship, and America's Cup, fans also have good shows! Starting this Sunday, the new FIFA Club World Cup (hereinafter referred to as the Club World Cup) will kick off at 12 stadiums in the United States. 32 teams from 6 continents will compete for the "club world championship" in the next month.

Strong teams gathered: Champions from continents in the past four years

Since we want to compete for the world championship, strong teams naturally cannot be missed. Like the World Cup, the teams participating in the new version of the Club World Cup come from 6 continents, including 12 in Europe, 6 in South America, 4 in Asia, Africa, North America and the Caribbean, and 1 in Oceania, plus the representative of the host US team (Miami International, the regular season champion last season).

The new Champions League champion Paris Saint-Germain will participate in this Club World Cup. Image source: Xinhua News Agency

The 32 teams that finally qualified for the competition are the champions of top events of clubs in various continents (UEFA Champions League, AFC Champions League, South American Liberators, etc.) from 2021 to 2024, and the teams ranked high according to the points rules set by FIFA. Among them, at most two teams in a single Football Association have advanced according to the score.

Botafogo, who won the South American Liberators Cup last year, was qualified to participate in this Club World Cup. Image source: Xinhua News Agency

Under such circumstances, despite the "left beads" of the new Premier League, La Liga, Serie A champion Liverpool, Barcelona, ​​Naples, etc., the lineup of this competition is still luxurious. Real Madrid, La Liga champions, Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain, Premier League powerhouse Manchester City, Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, and two veteran Serie A teams, Juventus and Inter Milan, have played in Europe; Brazil and Argentina, such traditional Brazilian and Argentina teams, such as Brazil and Argentina, have won the South America qualification; Cairo Nationals, Riyadh Crescent, who have performed well in African and Asian club competitions in recent years, and Miami International, the hosts of veterans such as Messi, Suarez, and Busquets, have many "strong dialogues" worth looking forward to in this competition.

High bonuses: The total amount far exceeds the Qatar World Cup

According to the plan announced by FIFA in March this year, the total prize money for this event is US$1 billion, including US$525 million in fixed participation prizes and US$475 million in game results prizes. For comparison, the total prize money for the 2022 Qatar World Cup is US$440 million. No wonder FIFA President Infantino said proudly: "The bonus distribution model of this year's Club World Cup reflects the peak level of club football, which is the largest prize pool in the history of the competition-based football competition."

However, the allocation of fixed prizes is also divided into "three or six or nine levels". Some European clubs with excellent competitive performance and business influence can get the highest level of US$38.19 million. The only representative of Oceania, New Zealand's Auckland City, will earn the lowest-end US$3.58 million.

Miami International team led by Messi will face the Egyptian Cairo Nationals in the opening game. Image source: Xinhua News Agency

Results and Prizes, each team will receive 2 million US dollars for each game they win, and a draw will receive 1 million US dollars. Every time you pass the knockout stage, you will receive a bonus. In addition to the championship trophy, you will also receive a $40 million account in the final. This means that if a club that wins the top-notch competition award wins the championship, their total revenue in this event will reach $125 million.

Record bonuses come from huge revenues. FIFA said in May this year that the Club World Cup will bring in $2 billion in revenue, of which 75% comes from TV rights and marketing, and 25% comes from ticket sales, etc. In this case, FIFA will also place $250 million as a "solidarity bonus" to allocate it to clubs that have not participated. Infantino said there has never been a single event that has benefited so many clubs as much as this year's Club World Cup.

Extended schedule: Some people question the heavy burden on players

Like the Qatar World Cup held at the end of 2022, the 32 teams in the new version of the Club World Cup will be divided into 8 groups, with the top two in each group advanced to the top 16, and then a single knockout round will be held. This means that the teams that win the first and second place will play a total of 7 games. Unlike the World Cup, there is no third place battle in the new version of the Club World Cup. The entire schedule will be from June 15 to July 13.

This year's Club World Cup is grouped.

However, no intercontinental club event has had such a long period before. In the 1960s, the Intercontinental Cup was born, where the Champions League champion and the South American Liberators Cup were directly confronted. In 1980, the event was renamed to the Toyota Cup due to the addition of its sponsors, and decided to decide the title of the championship on the second Sunday of December in Tokyo, Japan.

After the "last dance" of the Toyota Cup in 2004, the Club World Cup, which gathered top event champions of clubs from six continents, officially took over, and gradually determined the "Champions of six continents + host representatives". In this case, the game only takes one week to complete, especially the European team with a heavy schedule will start directly from the semi-finals and only play two games at most.

Infantino showed off the trophy at this Club World Cup draw ceremony last December. Image source: Xinhua News Agency

In fact, FIFA announced the decision to reform the Club World Cup in 2019, and determined the plan to participate in the competition by the end of 2022 and hold it every four years. Then the time and host of the first match will be determined by the end of 2023, and expressed its determination to build it into another "top" event outside the World Cup.

However, creating a large event in the already very dense calendar will inevitably lead to controversy. Some voices believe that professional players should get as much rest time as possible in the summer after a long season of competition. The launch of a new version of the Club World Cup in the years without the World Cup and the European Championships, the Copa America and other national team competitions has undoubtedly increased the burden on players. Dutch national team coach Koeman said at the beginning of this month that the club may be excited about the high prize money, but it is difficult for the players to be excited about participating in the event.

Real Madrid will participate in this Club World Cup. This is Real Madrid striker Mbappe celebrates his goal in his La Liga match against Celta in May this year. Image source: Xinhua News Agency

La Liga recently rejected the proposal of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid to adjust the schedule of the new season to get more rest time. La Liga President Tevas criticized: "It is unacceptable to constantly modify our own schedule for events we do not support. FIFA has never negotiated with us."