Gianni Infantino 'calls emergency meeting' over Club World Cup with big concerns raised

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has reportedly called an emergency meeting amid concern over a lack of interest in their new Club World Cup expansion.

Football’s world governing body officials were said to have been summoned for discussions with TV executives to drum up interest in the revamped tournament ahead of its launch next year, according to The Athletic.

The new competition in 2025 will see 32 teams from around the globe play matches across the space of a month in the US – the same place where the next World Cup in 2026 will be held.

Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are among the 12 European teams set to be included, while six South American teams, four from Asia, Africa and north and central America and one from Oceania also make the cut.

However, there are few other details available on which exact locations games will be staged and FIFA are now said to be ramping up talks to secure sponsorships and decide on key details for the tournament – after a deal with tech giant Apple reportedly collapsed.

The report states that FIFA is yet to secure broadcasters, decide which venues will be used or which training bases will be given to teams. FIFA have also not informed clubs how much they can expect for taking part – after a £38m windfall for teams was initially mooted.

The proposed tournament has faced a barrage of criticism over concerns about player burnout, with Manchester City’s Rodri hinting at the possibility of a players’ strike due to the intense demands.

Yet, FIFA President Infantino has come out swinging in defence of the competition this summer. He argued that the event is on par with national team tournaments like the World Cup, stating: “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 further explained the global impact of FIFA’s work, saying: “If you look at all the national team games around the world, we still have between one and two per cent of the matches which are organized by FIFA. All other matches, 98 to 99 per cent, are organised by other organisations, by different leagues, associations and confederations.”

Infantino also highlighted FIFA’s financial contribution to the sport worldwide: “With this one or two per cent matches that FIFA organises, 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 organisation does that. I hope that these figures… probably will stop this futile debate.”