Club World Cup Expansion For 2029 Looks More Likely After FIFA-EFC Deal

What happened:

FIFA has agreed to create a joint venture with European Football Clubs, the lobby group known as EFC, to operate the Club World Cup, according to The Guardian. The report says the next edition, scheduled for 2029, is likely to expand from 32 clubs to 48, with more Premier League clubs expected to be involved if the format grows.

Why it matters:

This is not just a governance tweak. It points to a bigger commercial and competitive direction for the Club World Cup after the first 32-team version. The Guardian reports Chelsea earned around £84m from winning last year's inaugural 32-team tournament, a figure that explains why major European clubs would push for more access. Expansion would turn qualification from a narrow prize into a broader revenue target.

Tournament impact:

A move from 32 to 48 clubs would change the texture of the event. More teams means more qualification paths, more fixture inventory, and probably more political pressure around who gets the extra places. The Premier League angle is especially important because England's richest clubs operate in a domestic environment where missing out on one international tournament can mean losing a major financial and branding opportunity to direct rivals.

For fans, the central question is whether expansion improves the tournament or dilutes it. A 48-club Club World Cup could create more cross-continental matchups and give more clubs a global stage. It could also deepen fixture congestion and make the competition feel more like a commercial extension of elite European football if the new places mainly flow to already powerful leagues.

What changed:

The important development is the joint venture itself. By agreeing to work with EFC, FIFA is tying the operation of the competition more closely to organised club interests. That does not automatically confirm the final format, but it strengthens the direction of travel: the clubs that generate the tournament's biggest audiences and revenues now have a formal structure around the event's future.

What to watch:

The next practical details are allocation and calendar. If the tournament grows to 48, FIFA will need to define how many extra European places exist, how Premier League clubs can qualify, and how the expanded event fits into an already crowded summer and preseason period. Until those mechanisms are published, the biggest consequence is still probable rather than final.

Confidence:

Confirmed by The Guardian's supplied story: FIFA has agreed a Club World Cup joint venture with EFC, the 2029 edition is reported as likely to expand from 32 to 48 clubs, and more Premier League clubs are expected to be involved. Still needing follow-up: formal confirmation of the 48-team format, qualification rules, confederation allocations and calendar details.