The FIFA tournaments are getting bigger and bigger, and the world association around President Gianni Infantino is also blowing up the Club World Cup into a huge spectacle. But the CEO of FC Bayern has something against it. Oliver Kahn criticizes the lack of clarification with the European Club Association and refuses to agree.
Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn has initially rejected FIFA President Gianni Infantino's reform plans to expand the Club World Cup to 32 teams. "I cannot understand why FIFA is announcing a Club World Cup with 32 teams without having previously clarified the necessary issues with the clubs as part of the ECA," Kahn told the "Bild" newspaper.
The contract between the world association and the European Club Association (ECA), "which regulates the cooperation and also the parking fees for national players to the clubs at the World Cup, expired in 2022," emphasized Kahn: "As long as there is no agreement here, it can be There shouldn't be a Club World Cup with ECA members. We in the ECA basically agree on that." The 53-year-old was elected to the ECA board in December 2021.
Infantino had announced during the World Cup in Qatar that the Club World Cup would be played with 32 teams from 2025 instead of the previous seven teams. The new tournament, which is planned every four years, will replace the previous Mini World Cup. However, the venue and other details have “not yet been discussed”. The upcoming Club World Cup will still be played in the old format with seven teams from February 1 to 11, 2023 in Morocco.
The North African country has applied for the World Cup five times to no avail, and Morocco is making another attempt for 2030. So far, the six winners of the main continental competitions take part in the Club World Cup, plus a team from the host country. Champions League winners Real Madrid are the European representatives.
