Gold Cup and Club World Cup to divide and conquer US in 2025

Official scheduling of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is beginning to take shape. The world’s governing body of the sport previously announced that the expanded tournament will be played in the United States. Now, according to The Athletic, a vast majority of the competition’s games are set to be played on the country’s east coast.

The decision was made for two specific reasons. First of all, the Eastern time zone in the United States is closer to Europe. This means that European soccer fans have a better chance of watching the competition, as opposed to if the tournament was on the other side of the States.

FIFA is attempting to accommodate Europeans due to their domination of the Club World Cup. Clubs from Europe have lifted the trophy in 16 of the 20 iterations (80%) of the competition. Only one team from outside of Europe has won the tournament since 2006. Brazilian side Corinthians topped Chelsea 1-0 in the 2012 version of the Club World Cup.

Club World Cup and Gold Cup playing out simultaneously

However, another significant reason for the scheduling involves the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The Club World Cup has historically played out during winter months. FIFA revealed that the 2025 version is happening in the summer. This will directly conflict with the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup schedule. Not only are the tournaments at the same time. The United States is hosting both of the international tournaments.

To ease conflicts in scheduling, FIFA decided that the West Coast of the United States would host the majority of the Gold Cup. This will help ease potential logistical and stadium problems for both tournaments. The Club World Cup will take place from June 14th to July 6th. The Gold Cup, on the other hand, is set for a start date of June 15th and the final will be played on July 13.

CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani previously asserted that while the competitions will coincide, there are plans to stagger kickoff times. “You might have some overlaps in the group stage,” stated Montagliani.

“(We have to) make sure our kickoff times are coordinated. If you do it right, it’ll work. It’s up to us and FIFA to make sure it works, and our teams work well together, and I have no issues. We’re in those discussions already.”

With the Club World Cup on the east coast and the Gold Cup on the west in 2025, it shapes up fittingly that the following summer’s World Cup Final goes in the middle of the country. On Thursday, news broke that Dallas would be hosting the World Cup Final when it comes to the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Money motivates FIFA’s move to expand Club World Cup

Besides moving the Club World Cup to the summer, FIFA is expanding the tournament to feature 32 teams. The competition has regularly featured just seven teams, one from each confederation and a host club. The move to expand the tournament, a competition that lacks widespread popularity, met extreme criticism.

FIFA’s move to increase the Club World Cup is another instance of the organization putting greed over player safety. Elite soccer players now regularly play over 60 total matches per year. Players, coaches, and health officials have since criticized the governing body for creating too many extra games.

France superstar Kylian Mbappe even recently hinted that soccer stars may soon take a page from NBA players regarding load management. This means that fans may pay significant amounts of money to watch certain players, only for them to take matches off due to rest. While this would be unfortunate, few would blame the players for needing to take care of their bodies.

Moving competition to summer affects an already hectic schedule

Expanding and moving the Club World Cup to the summer also now messes up the international soccer calendar. While traditionally lasting just a week in the winter, the competition will now take place for about a month during a key period. The Gold Cup schedule for the summer of 2025 coincides with the Africa Cup of Nations.

Scheduling the Club World Cup during this timeframe will put certain players in a precarious situation. For instance, let’s assume that Gio Reyna wins the UEFA Champions League (with either Borussia Dortmund or another club). The USMNT star would then have to choose which competition he would rather play in.

Players historically tend to opt to play for their national team. This, however, would put a club in a difficult spot. It would also show FIFA that the Club World Cup is not exactly a priority for players. Nevertheless, a scenario like this could prove that players can call the shots, not the governing body.

PHOTOS: IMAGO.