FIFA Club World Cup announcement has fans excited over controversial tournament
The controversial FIFA Club World Cup will be held across the United States in the summer of 2025 - with a total of 32 teams from around the world set to compete
Adidas has revealed the striking 2025 FIFA Club World Cup soccer ball ahead of the controversial new-look tournament’s June 14 kick-off.
The hugely enlarged competition is scheduled to be hosted every four years, one year ahead of the FIFA World Cup. In anticipation of the FIFA World Cup, the Club tournament will be held in the following year’s host nation.
As such, Adidas’ design is heavily inspired by the United States, with a red, white, and blue stars and stripes design. The ball is constructed out of 20 panels, designed with “maximum precision” in mind during gameplay.
Within the ball, a motion sensor is suspended in the center which will provide “unprecedented insight into every element of the movement of the ball.”
Adidas also explained that the sensor will provide valuable assistance for VAR, with the intention of speeding up potential offside calls as well as other possible fouls such as handballs.
“We wanted to create a ball which pays tribute to the USA’s infamous sporting culture and fandom,” Adidas football general manager Sam Handy said.
“With this came a clear ambition to create something bold, loud, iconic, and unmistakably American. It’s a true celebration of the host nation and we’re excited to see it perform on the world’s biggest stage this summer.”
The ball’s bold design appears to have gone down well with fans, including former USMNT star Alexi Lalas who tweeted, “See, this is how it’s done.” Another fan simply called it “Amazing,” As a second added: “Wowzers that’s beautiful” and a third commented, “That ball looks incredible.”
Despite this early success, the competition remains a controversial one following its revamp. The existing structure has been completely overhauled, starting in 2025, going from a seven-team format to 32.
This expansion means it will go from a seven-game format spread across around 20 days to 63 across approximately a month. Given that national team schedules are ever-expanding and calendars are becoming increasingly overloaded, this expansion has proven a divisive decision, as noted by Sporting News.
One particular critic was Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who tore into FIFA and UEFA in September for what he felt was a clear show that the organizations prioritize money over players’ well-being.
"We know there will be only three weeks between the Club World Cup final and the first Premier League match. So, we have three weeks to rest and prepare for another 80 matches,” he explained, via ESPN.
De Bruyne also added that, "The issue is that UEFA and FIFA keep adding extra matches, and we can raise concerns, but no solutions have been found. It seems that money speaks louder than the players' voices."
Despite the criticism from some of the game's biggest stars, FIFA boss Gianni Infantino defiantly defended the tournament last September.
"FIFA is organizing around one percent of the games of the top clubs in the world. When it comes to the national teams, it is very similar," he claimed.
"If you look at all the national team games around the world, we still have between 1 and 2 percent of the matches which are organized by FIFA. All other matches, 98 to 99 percent, are organized by other organizations, by different leagues, associations and confederations."
"With this 1 or 2 percent matches that FIFA organizes, FIFA is financing football all over the world. The revenue that we generate are not just going to few clubs in one country. The revenue that we generate are going to 211 countries. No other organization does that. I hope that these figures... probably will stop this futile debate."
Assuming "this futile debate" doesn't put off teams and players from participating, US soccer fans will get to see the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and the MLS' own Inter Miami in action this summer.