In 2025, the USA will host FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup with an increased number of teams. FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced that the event will expand to 32 teams.



There will be 12 European teams participating. That includes the UEFA Champions League winners from 2021-24 (<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/chelsea-tv-schedule/">Chelsea</a>, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/real-madrid-tv-schedule/">Real Madrid</a>, and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/manchester-city-tv-schedule/">Manchester City</a>). Using the same criteria over the same four-year period, the remaining European clubs will be selected.



Six teams from South America, including the Copa Libertadores champions from 2021-2024, are part of the remaining 20 spots. Additionally, four representatives from the Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) will be present.



The top-ranked club from Oceania’s Champions League winners in the years 2021–24 also qualifies. Finally, a team from the host country’s team and four more teams from Africa and Asia complete the squads.



<h2>Tebas slams FIFA after Club World Cup expansion</h2>



The president of <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/la-liga-tv-schedule/">La Liga</a>, Javier Tebas, has been critical of the new structure in his recent interview. The financial stability of European teams would suffer. Moreover, the schedule will yield intolerable strain, he claims.



In response to FIFA’s plan to enlarge the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/club-world-cup-tv-schedule-streaming-links/">Club World Cup</a>, Tebas informed <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12040/12923661/future-of-football-javier-tebas-exclusive-interview-laliga-president-shares-concerns-over-tournament-expansions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sky</a> about opposition to the expansion. And he said he’s going to go to court to stop FIFA from expanding their tournaments.



“For FIFA it is only related to power. The Club World Cup – 85 percent of the money they are getting in, they are going to distribute to the clubs, there is only going to be 15 percent for the confederations and the organizers. So I don’t think it’s all about money necessarily, because FIFA deal with huge amounts of money



“I think it’s more a power issue. [Gianni] Infantino has long wanted this Club World Cup to compete with the Champions League, and so there’s a difference in power between FIFA and UEFA because of that.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">🗣 "I think it&apos;s more a power issue. Infantino has long wanted this Club World Cup to compete really with the Champions League." La Liga president, Javier Tebas has accused FIFA president, Gianni Infantino of a power grab <a href="https://t.co/vBCrZOuoHS">pic.twitter.com/vBCrZOuoHS</a>— Football Daily (@footballdaily) <a href="https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1689255277151846401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h5>La Liga president could even take matters to court</h5>



FIFA, according to the La Liga president, is only interested in expanding. The two governing bodies want to capitalize on the prestige of the top clubs. He claims it doesn’t help soccer as a whole in any way.



“I think the key issue behind this is: we are managing the world football calendar for 300 elite players and 20 elite clubs. And we just can’t do that. We have over 1,500 professional clubs and over 40,000 professional players, and we are just thinking about the elite, and not thinking about all those other professional footballers.



“What really worries us is that there is going to be a much bigger difference in the money received by bigger clubs compared with other clubs in those domestic leagues. They [FIFA] have to think about all the different effects, and maybe they should realize they shouldn’t be doing this competition.”



To the question, “Can La Liga take FIFA to court?” Tebas said, “Well, it’s not that we can, it’s what we are going to do! “In the World Leagues Forum, they’re now carrying out a study on possible claims. And we are very clear on this – if it is not going to be led by the World Leagues Forum, La Liga is going to take them [FIFA] to court.



“We are not going to wait for decisions from elsewhere. We are very clear that this is going to cause a lot of damage to the national leagues, and if we have to go to court by ourselves, we will do so, and that is it.”



PHOTO: IMAGO &amp; NurPhoto

In his latest tirade against FIFA, La Liga president Javier Tebas has criticized the format changes made to the Club World Cup in the USA.

USA's Club World Cup is a power play by FIFA against UEFA

It’s time for another edition of the World Soccer Talk Reader Mailbag. This week, we tackle US Open Cup coverage, the Premier League Fan Fest, CONCACAF, Serie A and the FIFA Club World Cup. Don’t forget to add any new questions you might have in the comments below, and we’ll do our best to answer those next week. The questions don’t have to be about streaming. Remember, they can be about soccer too.



Dave: A few US Open Cup questions: 1) Have Turner announced coverage plans and/or outsourced rights to someone else? 2) Which rounds historically are the most entertaining, with a good mix of minnows and big names (like Third/Fourth round proper of FA Cup)? I remember last year having several very fun weeks



World Soccer Talk:&nbsp;1) There has been no additional news about the US Open Cup TV coverage since <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/us-open-cup-media-deal-20220216-CMS-371017.html">our story discussed the deal</a> almost twelve months ago. Once we get closer to the First Round in late March, we expect to have more details about the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2022/02/15/cindy-parlow-cone-talks-us-soccer-media-rights/">media rights</a>.



2) The round when MLS teams start to enter (this year is the third round, April 25-26) where they will potentially face off against lower division professional or even amateur teams is always a lot of fun. Everyone loves a good underdog story and some giant-killing moments. We’re hoping for another Sacramento-type run this year, just like last year when they <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2022/09/07/orlando-city-wins-us-open-cup/">reached the US Open Cup final</a>.



Dave, thanks for your questions. It’ll certainly be fascinating to see how Warner Bros-Discovery broadcasts the US Open Cup given that last year’s coverage on <a href="https://go.web.plus.espn.com/mWebq" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESPN+</a> was one of the best in recent memory.



Bill: Just wondering if you guys went to Fan Fest in Orlando this past weekend and if not, why not (just being nosey)? I know Fan Fest is a very American sports flashy thing and not the seriousness respect of the sport y’all prefer but it looks fun to be there.



World Soccer Talk:&nbsp;We were there. Kartik Krishnaiyer and I arrived on Thursday evening to prepare for our early morning interviews with the talent from NBC Sports on Friday. We interviewed <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tv/rebecca-lowe-reflects-on-10-years-of-premier-league-on-nbc-20230123-WST-416491.html">Rebecca Lowe</a>, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tv/tim-howard-on-his-role-as-the-american-voice-of-premier-league-coverage-20230124-WST-416503.html">Tim Howard</a> and The 2 Robbies. Then on Saturday, I interviewed Alan Shearer, Gary Cahill and NBC Sports executives, so keep an eye out for those interviews later in theweek on this website.



Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend there. For me personally, my favorite part was talking to the soccer fans who traveled from across the country to attend the Fan Fest in Orlando. I also loved seeing all of the different shirts that the American soccer fans wore, which was an eclectic mixture of clubs, to say the least.



If you’re reading this and you’ve never attended any of the Fan Fests, I highly recommend you go to the next one. It was so much fun.



Francisco: For next season, is there going to be any streaming service or channel that is going to pick up the rights to broadcast Italian Serie A in Spanish?



World Soccer Talk:&nbsp;<a href="https://paramountplus.qflm.net/c/330866/1007330/3065" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paramount+</a> continues to have the rights to <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/serie-a-tv-schedule/">Serie A</a> in all languages, but so far the streaming service has been reluctant to offer Spanish-language commentary to the games.



Honestly, though, the cost of providing Spanish-language commentary for Serie A matches may be cost prohibitive. I don’t believe there’s enough demand from Spanish-language viewers to make it worthwhile. 



Francisco, I know that other fans of Serie A have asked for Spanish-language commentary too. My advice would be to try to round up more fans on social media, and ask them to <a href="https://help.paramountplus.com/s/contact-us" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">let Paramount+ know</a> that you want games in Spanish.



Jason: What CONCACAF based competitions are on Paramount+ in 2023?



World Soccer Talk:&nbsp;Looking ahead to 2023, <a href="https://paramountplus.qflm.net/c/330866/1007330/3065" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paramount+</a> has the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/concacaf-nations-league-schedule/">Concacaf Nations League</a>, which returns at the end of March.



Jason: What streaming service has the FIFA Club World Cup in February?



World Soccer Talk:&nbsp;Great question, Jason. As you probably know, FOX Sports and Telemundo have the television rights to the competition. While FOX Sports still do not have a direct-to-consumer streaming service (other than Tubi, which showed games on demand at the World Cup), your best bet is to watch all of the games in Spanish via <a href="https://imp.i305175.net/c/330866/1313913/11640" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Peacock Premium</a> for $4.99 per month (which also includes 180 Premier League games per season as well as USMNT and USWNT games).



Presumably FOX Sports will show games via their FOX Sports app.



That’s all for this week. Don’t forget to ask your questions in the comments below, and we’ll answer in the Reader Mailbag next Tuesday

The World Soccer Talk Reader Mailbag answers your questions about TV and streaming coverage, and soccer in general, every week.

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USA's Club World Cup is a power play by FIFA against UEFA

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Reader Mailbag: Answering your soccer questions