FIFA has no plans to invite Barcelona to the Club World Cup

In 2025, an updated format of the Club World Cup awaits us. Formerly a tournament featuring six teams—representing the strongest across various continental confederations—held annually, from 2025 onward, the tournament will adopt a new structure. It will occur every four years, mirroring the format of the FIFA World Cup for national teams, involving 32 clubs.

The tournament slots are allocated as follows across football confederations:

• UEFA - 12 teams
• CONMEBOL - 6 teams
• CONCACAF - 4 teams
• AFC - 4 teams
• CAF - 4 teams
• OFC - 1 team

FIFA retains the right to invite two teams at their discretion, regardless of their performance. Recent information suggests they do not plan to extend an invitation to Barcelona for the tournament, as reported by Sport.es.

La Liga is expected to present two teams, and one spot has already been secured by Real Madrid, the victor of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League.

However, FIFA does not intend to invite the 'Blaugrana' due to strained relations between the organization and the club. This tension partly stems from the Catalan club's leadership endorsing the Super League project, an initiative opposed by FIFA.

For the Catalan club, only one opportunity remains to secure a spot—by achieving the necessary benchmarks. To do so, they must accumulate seven points more than Atlético or win the current season's Champions League, a prospect appearing highly uncertain given the team's current performance.

Certainly, 2024 holds unforeseeable possibilities. Yet, it is clear that under Xavi's guidance, the players will need to intensify their efforts significantly to vie for qualification. Otherwise, they risk missing out on the inaugural edition of this prestigious tournament.