Morocco have been selected to host the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup.
Continental club champions will congregate in Morocco for the the chance to win one of club football’s ultimate prize.
Africa will be represented by Wydad Casablanca of Morocco who won the CAF Champions League in 2022 beating Egyptian rivals Al Ahly SC.
There has been media speculation surrounding the future of the tournament. The 2025 edition of the Club World Cup could be played in the current FIFA World Cup format where 32 clubs battle it out for the ultimate prize.
“The new men’s Club World Cup will take place in 2025 and will feature 32 teams”. FIFA President Giovanni Infantino is quoted telling the media.
It remains to be seen how this new tournament format will have an impact on the players with Super Cup also being proposed by CAF. “32-team tournament will go ahead, making it like a World Cup”, Infantino added. In 2021, FIFA had planned to make it a 24-team tournament until COVID disrupted normal operations.
Another interesting part would be the selection criteria. How are slots going to be allocated to each continental confederation? The current format features just seven teams, comprising the winners of each confederation’s regional trophy, including the UEFA Champions League and CAF Champions League winners. Chelsea are the current holders, after beating Brazilian club Palmeiras in February.
Although Europe has won the current form many times, it is noted that they only join the tournament at the semi-final stage together with South America.
Al Ahly has been a semi-finalist twice and on both occasions returned with a bronze medal. Africa could have a bone to contest should they be allowed to play in the preliminaries first again.
