The 2025 Club World Cup will take shape shortly after 1pm on Thursday in Miami, where FIFA will make the draw for the tournament’s group stage. Real Madrid, Inter Miami and the rest of the 32-team field will get to know their opponents – and their path to another trophy.
This first Club World Cup is surrounded by uncertainty. But with a recently acquired broadcaster and 12 US stadiums on board, the draw will be a crucial milestone on the difficult route to kick-off.
The opener is scheduled for June 15 in Miami and the finale for July 13 in New Jersey. Apart from these dates and locations, not much else is known about the tournament. But it will come to life when FIFA divides the 32 clubs from four seeded pots into eight groups – and releases a full fixture list shortly afterwards.
Yahoo Sports will have live coverage of the draw and its aftermath below.
Here’s how you can watch the draw for the Club World Cup
The event and show start at 1:00 PM ET. You can watch the draw live and for free on FIFA.com, FIFA+ or DAZN.
How the draw works
Like a classic World Cup draw, the 32 teams have been placed into four pots – partly based on meritocratic rankings, partly based on geography.
Pot 1: Manchester City (Europe), Real Madrid (Europe), Bayern Munich (Europe), PSG (Europe), Flamengo (South America), Palmeiras (South America), River Plate (South America), Fluminense (South America) )
Pot 2: Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Porto, Atlético Madrid, Benfica, Juventus, RB Salzburg (all Europe)
Pot 3: Al Hilal (Asia), Ulsan (Asia), Al Ahly (Africa), Wydad (Africa), Monterrey (CONCACAF), León (CONCACAF), Boca Juniors (South America), Botafogo (South America)
Pot 4: Urawa Reds (Asia), Al Ain (Asia), Espérance (Africa), Mamelodi Sundowns (Africa), Pachuca (CONCACAF), Seattle Sounders (CONCACAF), Auckland City (Oceania), Inter Miami (CONCACAF)
The draw starts with Pot 1. The first team chosen goes to Group A, Position 1; the next team chose probably goes to group B, position 1; and so forth. After all eight groups have been filled with a Pot 1 team, a similar procedure empties Pot 2, then Pot 3, and finally Pot 4 – but subject to certain ‘restrictions’, as explained here.
Follow below starting at 12:00 PM ET as the orbs are drawn and the groups are revealed. We unravel the complexities as they become relevant.
