section_path: Background and format
section_name: Background and format
paragraph_text: Background and format
  
  Since its return from hiatus in 2005, the FIFA Club World Cup had been held annually in December and was limited to the winners of continental club competitions. As early as late 2016, FIFA president Gianni Infantino suggested expanding the Club World Cup to 32 teams beginning in 2019 and rescheduling it to June/July to be more balanced and attractive to broadcasters and sponsors. In late 2017, FIFA discussed proposals to expand the competition to 24 teams and have it be played every four years starting in 2021, replacing the FIFA Confederations Cup. The expanded format and schedule of Club World Cup, to be played in June and July 2021, was confirmed at the March 2019 FIFA Council meeting in Miami. China was appointed as host in October 2019, but the 2021 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  On June 23, 2023, FIFA confirmed that the United States would host the 2025 tournament as a prelude to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The 32 teams will be divided into eight groups of four teams with the top two teams in each group qualifying to the knockout stage. The format is the same of that used in the FIFA World Cup between 1998 and 2022, with the exception of a third-place playoff.
  
  In January 2024, it was reported that the tournament would mainly take place on the East Coast to be closer to European broadcasters and viewers while also avoiding conflicts with the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which will also take place primarily in the United States around the same time, but mainly in the Western part of the country.