Arsene Wenger Reveals Advantage Of Expanded FIFA Club World Cup

Former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger claims that football may become “really global” due to the expanded version of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Arsene Wenger who now works with FIFA in the football development department stressed that the expanded version of the tournament should not be seen from only a European perspective.

Naija News has reported that the world football governing body, FIFA, has confirmed that the Club World Cup will be expanded to 32 teams from 2025. This means that clubs will now have to play more games from the said year.

This development has drawn criticism from Fifpro, the association of foreign players, and City manager, Pep Guardiola.

But Arsene Wenger who is overseeing Fifa’s growth of international football, characterizes it as “an opportunity for other clubs to advance.”

The new format is also seen as one of the measures to strengthen each confederation to the same extent as the European Union.

“The positive impact this will have on clubs is going to be huge because it will increase resources for clubs all over the world to develop and to compete,” Arsene Wenger said.

“In Europe we are lucky, but it’s important that we make football really global and this creates a chance for other clubs to progress. It will give more opportunities to players all over the world to compete at the highest level.

“I accept that the football calendar is a busy one, but this is a competition that is going to take place every four years and of course, the rest period during the competition and afterward has to be respected.”

The first edition of the expanded FIFA Club World Cup will kick off in the United States on July 13, 2025. This means that the tournament will end about four weeks before the commencement of the 2025-2026 Premier League season and about a year before the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, Canada, and the USA.